Fear
by Dr. E. Mode
Summary: I gasped as I felt pain almost worse than my broken ribs. The pain though was coming from my wrist. My eyes shot open for two seconds. They locked with Jasper’s horrified eyes as his teeth sank into my radial artery and then everything went black.
1. Leaving

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note**: This story starts a little slow. It gives a general background of the main original character, and introduces Jessica Stanley. But then it bleeds (no pun intended) into the world of the Cullens.

**Fear**

_I fear I have nothing to give_

**_One: Coraline Gilbert_**

**1. Leaving**

Aunt Diana sat awkwardly next to me in La Guardia Airport. We were waiting for my flight out west to Seattle. I was going away to college at the University of Washington in Seattle. I was fulfilling my predetermined destiny. No one said it, but my parents had laid down the foundation of a free ride to that college before I was even born. The catch was that I would have to study the same thing they did, which was anthropology. I actually didn't mind it. The math and statistics got monotonous but it was easy to me. The hard part was – and I looked over to my right at my tall, beautiful Aunt Diana with her long blonde hair and bright blue eyes, former super model, turned senior editor of _Vogue_ magazine in New York City, as a reminder – the social aspect. Sure I could assimilate, but could I fit in?

"Nope," I answered my thoughts as I played a game on my iPhone.

"What Corey?" Diana asked with as much interest as possible.

"Nothin'," I replied apathetically.

I can't blame Diana's lack of interest in my life. She tried really hard, and I thought after our first two years together we would be best friends. That didn't last. See Diana is the epitome of 'individual' and has to be free to do what she wants. She was always like that – after graduating from Fordham with a degree in journalism; she went on to be a model (because the two were so related). She modeled for a long time, like until she was thirty at least. As her modeling career waned, she finally starting using that college degree of hers and began moving up through the ranks in _Vogue_.

My parents died eight years ago, and at that time in my aunt's life, she was transitioning from model lifestyle to journalist lifestyle. Diana had no other choice, she was my only family and my mother (Diana's sister) named her the sole guardian in case anything happened. Well, at the age of ten I found myself packed and shipped all the way across the country from Seattle to Manhattan. Diana didn't have much on her plate at the time, just editorials and a few editing gigs for the magazine, but nothing too extensive. So the first two years were almost pleasant.

Well she hit it big with the editor-in-chief and her career skyrocketed. I got placed on the backburner. She tried; I don't deny her efforts, but it wasn't what I needed. I needed someone to talk to, to explain how to wear my first bra, how to deal with puberty, and boys. Diana offered as much advice as possible, but I usually got the 4-1-1 from my nanny, Emily. The only good thing throughout my whole experience with Diana: I could have anything I wanted.

Normally kids would start asking for sweets and toys, but I wanted something else. My mother's family was 100% German, and while Diana rarely exercised her use of the guttural language, I embraced it – as well as every other language possible. My aunt got me private tutors so I didn't have to go to school and special people to come and teach me all sorts of languages. I perfected my German, and forced my aunt to speak it whenever she interacted with me (which I felt was one small sacrifice on her part). After German, I moved on to the Romance languages. There was just something so natural about the languages. I could pick them up with almost no problem.

I was going to the University of Washington to study anthropology, but my tutoring schedule was loaded with languages. I clearly didn't have to worry about fulfilling that requirement at school since I had received perfect 5's on my AP German, Spanish, Italian and French exams. I was still In the process of perfecting my Portuguese and Russian when AP exam time came around so those were nixed. My aunt thought I should be a translator for the UN instead of an anthropologist, but I couldn't abandon my parents' work.

"No, I can't," I answered my own thoughts again. Bad habit. People thought I was nuts when I talked to myself, but when you're alone most of the time, it becomes habitual.

"Flight 223 La Guardia to Seattle now boarding First Class," the woman at the gate said over the load speaker.

I sighed and looked at my aunt. I had dreamed for this day when I would leave behind the life I once knew and prepared to start a new one. I didn't want to be shuffled around in limos anymore or whispered about as I walked through her office. I knew I wasn't as pretty as she was, and people wondered how we were related. But somewhere deep inside I was going to miss her.

"I guess I should get going," I looked at the phone and clicked out of the game, sticking the gadget in my carry-on backpack. It was the same backpack my mother used when she was alive.

"Yeah I guess so," Diana stood, her legs supporting an impressive 5'8" frame _without_ the three-inch stiletto heels she always wore. She bent down awkwardly to embrace me. I was barely 5'2" and I had a feeling the scene was making onlookers snicker.

"Thanks for everything, Diana," I said sincerely and looked up at her. Though we didn't say it, we both had a feeling that this would be the last time we would ever see each other again.

"If you need anything, and I mean _anything_," she held my face in a strange maternal way, "you just call and ask." She sighed as tears formed in her eyes. "God you look so much like your mother right now. She would be so proud to see you off. I know I haven't been the best guardian, but you know I love you, right Corey?"

"Of course," I held back my tears, which caused a burning sensation in my throat.

"Your bank account is full, so you shouldn't need any money, but if you do, don't hesitate to call. I don't care what time it is, just call or text and I'll respond. I swore I would do the best I could with what I know, and eight years later I'm still trying," she hugged me and I barely came up to her shoulders. "I love you Coraline."

She said my full name and I couldn't hold back the tears any longer. I simply nodded and muttered something along the lines of, "I love you too." We broke away for a moment, both of us dabbing our eyes, trying to hide tears from the other. We just laughed at our stupidity, hugged again, and I boarded the plane. I had a window seat (of course Diana wouldn't get anything less for me), and apparently she had also bought the seat next to me, knowing I hated close contact with strangers. I kept my backpack on that seat as a protective barrier between me and whoever would occupy the end seat.

Once the plane was off the ground and I had my soda in hand, I heaved a great sigh, turned on my iPod and closed my eyes. And that's when the dreams began …


	2. Seattle

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note:** As a teacher you learn to anticipate your students' questions, and usually you can figure out where they're going to struggle, but sometimes there are questions you never thought would come because it just all makes sense in your head … The long and short of it: This is set post-Breaking Dawn (yeah, I totally failed to mention that … I really apologize for that). The entire cast of the Twilight series is included – as for whether or not Jasper & Alice are together … well you'll just have to read on to find out! ;o) … and as all authors, I do appreciate feedback! Thanks in advance!

**2. Seattle**

The University of Washington was big, but after living in the City for eight years, big was no sweat. I assimilated – like I said I would. But by no means did I fit in. For all intents and purposes I had legally changed my last name to Gilbert, my mother's maiden name, when I started applying for colleges just because I knew the moment I said "My name is Coraline Preston", the administration would be all over me like ants on a picnic. Of course the name Coraline isn't very typical, so I kept it short, just "Corey".

By the second week of school I was already so submersed in books that my mind never wandered to how alone I was. I rarely talked to people, except when professors split us up into groups, and thanks to my secret celebrity status on campus, I had a single all to myself. Granted I liked the space, I did miss the idea of having a "normal" freshman college experience. No one knocked on my door, and no one drew on my whiteboard – except the first week when some guy drew a penis, but every whiteboard was subjected to the vulgarity. To them I was just another freshman – a small girl with blue eyes that were too round for her face, sometimes hidden by neon-green framed, rectangle glasses, and always holding at least 50lbs of books. So it was a surprise when one girl across the hall from me actually extended some courtesy to me.

"Hey," a cheery voice called. I didn't turn because no one ever talked to me; instead I fumbled stupidly with my keys. "Hey, um, Corey is it?"

I dropped the keys, as well as my library books, and turned. I had my glasses on that day so my eyes were magnified beyond their normal size. I'm sure I was an awful sight to see. "Yes?" I asked meekly.

Apparently I had scared her with my bewildered look because it took her a moment to recover. "Um," she cleared her throat and then walked over with an extended hand. "Hi, my name is Jessica Stanley. I'm across the hall from you. I don't think we've ever officially met."

I shook her hand. Despite being a petite nothing, my hands were strong. I got it from my parents – I was built for the outdoors. "Nice to meet you. Corey Gilbert."

"I think we have Anthropology together," she beamed, a perfect, bright smile.

It took me a moment to process this, and then it dawned on me. "Of course," I somehow composed myself, "I do remember you now. I'm sorry I haven't talked to you. I've just, um, been really preoccupied with schoolwork and such. You know."

"Oh my god, _definitely_! And that test that's coming up this week, have you started studying?"

"Um," I bit my lower lip, how much of my nerdiness did I divulge at a time? "A little." I lied.

"Well do you want to study with us tomorrow?"

"Us?"

"Oh sorry, just me, and a few of the guys from class. We formed sort of a study group. We're going to meet in my room, order some pizza and start studying hardcore."

I tried to see an angle around this. I tried to find the loophole. Why would she invite me? Of all people. Was I actually semi-appealing to be around, not that I truly hung out with anyone. Or did they get wind of who I really was and were just looking for answers – not that I really had any. Well, so what if they did, people used their charm and talent to get what they wanted. Since I had none of those naturally abilities I would just have to work off the hard work my parents had done. I shrugged with a smile.

"Sure, that sounds great," I actually sounded happy. Wow. "I'll bring my notes and stuff, I usually type up study guides, so I'll make a few copies to help us out."

"Awesome," she smiled back and unlocked her door. "Well, I have class in a little, but I'll see you around, okay? And stop by any time, our door's always open."

"Thanks," I beamed. "I have a single so if you need to escape from your roommate at all, you're welcome to."

"I'll keep that in mind, she snores so loud," Jessica rolled her eyes jokingly, smiled, waved and then disappeared.

I stood rooted to the spot. I couldn't move. I had just had my first successful interaction with one of the girls on my floor. If it wasn't too conspicuous I probably would have literally jumped for joy at the thought of not being a complete social outcast. I picked up my books, unlocked my door and sat right down to email my Aunt the information. Afterwards I laid down on my bed and took a nap. The dream started as soon as my eyes closed …

It was cooler out, around late autumn. There was no sun, just continuous cloud coverage. I was somewhere in the mountains. The exact location was fuzzy, but I could tell it was in Washington somewhere. Looking down at my body I could see I was wearing jeans, hiking boots, some thermal underwear and a light, but durable fleece and a vest. On my back was a full hiking pack, stuffed with food, water, maps, notepads, pens, camera, my iPod, and my cell phone. How I knew all this, I wasn't quite sure.

The cool breeze blew through the air and cleansed my senses. It woke me up as if I was walking around in a clouded haze for a while, and I was only now seeing what really lay before me: an excavation site. I recognized it at once from past pictures; it was my parents' old dig site. I muddled around the haphazardly placed instruments, rusted from years of neglect. The people at the University couldn't even bring themselves to disturb the tools Dr. McCormick Preston and Dr. Jenny Gilbert-Preston had last touched. I reached my hand out to place it on a rusted hammer, but a low growl caused me to automatically retract and the hairs on my neck stood up.

I turned to see if anyone was coming, but I was alone. The growl came from behind this time, and I turned to see a bush move. My limbs were locked in place, fear completely paralyzing me, and my breathing increased exponentially. I could only move my eyes, and even then they were limited. Suddenly the growl was only a few feet behind me. My feet unlocked and as I slowly turned to meet the predator that made the sound, the animal lunged at me sending an earth-shattering shriek through my lungs.

SUN.

I opened my eyes.

My forehead was drenched in sweat and my jaw was locked in place from clenching so hard.

After two minutes of blinking and working my jaw, it finally unhinged itself and I coughed.

Sun.

It was sunny and my clock read 3:32pm.

Sitting up, I looked around my empty room and waited for my heart rate to return to a normal pace. The date on my calendar read September 15th. It wasn't the end of autumn and I wasn't planning a hike any time soon. The only thing that kept my mind lingering on the dream was the fact that this was the second time I was having the same dream. It was the same dream I had when I flew to Seattle.

Shaking my head, I got out of bed and started on my homework for the next day.


	3. Forks

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note: **Sorry, this chapter is a little longer, but it sets the stage for your friendly neighborhood vampires' entrances!

**3. Forks**

It turned out that Jessica and her group of "friends", more like three really anxious college boys that wanted to hook-up with her & their not-as-anxious friend, had asked me to help them because they were so lost. At least it wasn't because I was really a Preston. They had only briefly studied Dr. Preston's stuff along with his wife's, but they said, and I quote, "it was too dense to understand". I liked that little bit of power.

We worked well, the six of us. I didn't mind sharing my study guides so much because these people were genuinely interested in learning, they just had no idea how to break down all the ideas in the class. After a few weeks of working with them, they started to get the idea, and soon we were breaking up study guide parts and exchanging pieces between the six of us. It made the workload much lighter, and I had a group of people to hang out with. I was headed on the right path. Well at least I thought I was.

It was the first week in November and we had just suffered through mid terms when our professor, Dr. Emerling, decided that we were ready to apply some of our knowledge to a real hands-on field site. The whole project sounded like a good idea until he posted the possible dig sites. We were to choose a group of four to six people, and then sign up for a site. Some were close, and some were farther away. Of course me, Jessica, and the four boys, Gary, Derrick, Kevin, and Carter, banded together at once.

"Oh, look, let's do this one!" Jessica squealed as she pointed to a dig site that looked pretty uninteresting at first glance. The picture was dull and not that exciting. "It's right by my house and we could stay over for the weekend, get all our research done, and have a party at the same time! My mom would _love_ it!"

I read the description and almost had a heart attack.

"Jess, do you _know_ what this site is?" I squeaked.

"Yeah, it's by Forks, where I live," she shrugged.

"No, that's where my –" I cut myself off. "That's where, um, Dr. Preston and his wife used to work." Panic started to fill my insides. It was going to bust one of my ribs. But I couldn't let it through my voice. "We should choose somewhere else. You said you don't like their stuff, and we have to read at least three journal submissions by the anthropologists that worked at these sites –"

"But _you_ know their papers," she accused, and the boys nodded approval.

"Yeah, but," I sighed and looked at the picture. What was I going to say? "But everyone has to be able to read them, not just me. And I have a lot of work for my language classes, so I'll never be able to decipher all of them in time for this deadline. Maybe we should just go with the one just outside of Seattle –"

"C'mon, Corey," Jessica pouted her lower lip. And if Jessica did this, then all the boys would agree with her. It was either work with them at this horrid place, try to find another group (unlikely), or work by myself. I didn't have enough time to work on my own project unfortunately.

I sighed. "Okay," I muttered under my breath.

"Yes! This is going to be great! I can show you around Port Angeles and –"

"Jess, we have an assignment," I narrowed my eyes.

"Yes, yes, I know, but we'll have to go back a few times. We can work _and_ have fun," she practically sang the sentences.

[insert exacerbated sigh here]

"As long as we get the assignment done," I grumbled, and then added before I left for my Russian class, "you guys _better_ print out the articles and read them over. I don't have time to dictate them to you also."

"We will, we will," Carter rolled his eyes and flicked his long, straight hair out of his green eyes.

I didn't respond, just turned and went to my parents' wing of the University. All their publications with commentary, criticisms, and response papers, were archived in the anthropology department. I had been avoiding full contact with the secretaries that had been there since the beginning of time and would certainly know who I was, but it was inevitable. I needed their clearance to access the archives. I gritted my teeth and walked with determination to the main office of the anthro department.

- - - - -

_Two weeks later._

"…and then we can do a little research, break down the information, and enjoy hot chocolate by the fireplace in my den," Jessica babbled endlessly from the front passenger's seat about how much fun the project was going to be. Derrick, her current favorite of the four boys (it changed daily, but they didn't seem to care), had offered to drive since he was the one with the "sick" Escalade. But she did leave a surprising amount of time for actual work.

I came up with ways to kill myself that would not implicate her, her family or any of the boys. I was ready to jump ship if it just became too much to bear. Luckily carsickness wasn't really my thing, so I continued to read and highlight the papers we had chosen related to the dig site. My parents were very prolific writers, so it wasn't hard to find a paper; it was just hard to narrow down the choices.

There were a few papers that even I had never heard of. I did the grunt work, scanning through old copies, double checking references, and making sure that the papers we were interested in had good commentary and criticism to offer us a fair debate. I had dug up three papers that seemed most relevant to the dig site: Ancient peoples of Washington – a closer look at their rituals; Sacrifices of the dead and the afterlife; Blood letting and its role in ancient sacrifices.

"Morbid papers, Corey," Jessica wrinkled her nose when she turned and looked at me engrossed in the assignment and my HP Notebook laptop set up. I was furiously writing notes, the plastic stylus hitting the screen of the computer in a rhythmic pace.

"Might I remind you that it was all of _your guys'_ idea to choose this dig site?" I shot a dark look in her direction. It wasn't that I was mad … yet. But if they suddenly decided that this isn't what they wanted to study, and that site outside of Seattle would have been fine, then I _was_ going to kill someone.

"Well we read their _other_ papers," she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah the ones that were published before they became famous," I replied curtly.

"I think it's cool," Gary shrugged. Gary was tall, well compared to me at least, and usually optimistic. He was my favorite of the four guys. He was never obsessing over his looks in the mirror, even though he had a pretty well toned body, or fixing his blonde hair, which stood out in odd directions sometimes. He flashed a grin in my direction.

"Thanks," I muttered out the side of my mouth, a smile clearly spreading across my thin lips.

- - - - -

After three and a half long hours in the car, stuck listening to rap music, which caused me to eventually rudely insert my own iPod earplugs and tune out the noise, we arrived in Forks. It was a little town covered in clouds. At first the five of us said nothing as we piled out of the Escalade and looked around Jessica's property. Her house was a decent size, but I think it was the amount of land she had that shocked us. I came from Manhattan, Gary and Derrick grew up in Seattle together, Kevin lived in apartment buildings all his life, and Carter lived in a comfortable suburb in California.

We had never seen such a desolate looking place. Jessica of course didn't realize we were all amazingly of the same mindset: this was a weird place. A cold wind gust got caught inside the car and caused one of the doors to shut. Completely startled, I jumped and nearly dropped my precious computer.

"Whoa, you okay there?" Gary caught me and I thought for a moment, as I stared into his bright blue eyes, there was a little sparkle. Nope, definitely the light – what light? A trick then.

"Thanks," I said quietly, yet sincerely and straightened up.

"Well, are you just gonna stand there and freeze?" Jessica chirped in her peppy voice. "Come on inside!"

Once settled, we got out some snacks, waiting for Jessica's parents to return from work, and started organizing our notes. Again, my team surprised me by their fascination in the chosen topic. I figured they had just picked the first three papers that had popped up on the Google Scholar search, but they had done their research. It was my turn to hold up my end of the bargain and decipher my parents' cryptic text.

"I swear this was translated from Greek," I muttered, frustrated with the wording and terminology used in the paper about sacrifices and the afterlife of the ancient people.

"We've been working a long time," Carter shrugged his round, former-linebacker shoulders and slouched in a chair. "Let's take a break, let Jess really show us this town of hers." He gave her a wink, which none of the other guys saw, but I did and it made my blood boil how she could allow herself to be passed around like a piece of paper. That's all she was to them sometimes – a piece of paper they marked up and wrote their dirty little fantasies on.

"Yeah, let's go in to town. I think some of my friends from school are home. Let me make a few phone calls."

Jessica bounced out of the room and that left the five of us to sit and stare at each other. Like I said before, social grace wasn't really my thing, so if there was a way to make an already awkward situation even _more_ awkward, I found it. A few throats cleared, but nothing else happened. Despite being a little mindless and not the sharpest knife in the drawer, Jessica was what bound us together. She was the glue to our little group, and somehow it worked. When she was there, we were a coherent bunch, but as soon as she left, it was like someone pulled the pins and the doorframe just came unhinged.

"So," I tried to think of something half intelligent to say. Correction: I tried to find something that would interest them – a _much_ harder feat. "So, um, have any of you guys ever hear of this place before?"

"No," was the general consensus muttered by the boys.

"Well then why pick this dig site?" I frowned. Of course I knew the answer to that question – because _Jessica_ had wanted to work here.

"I dunno, whatever," Kevin, not the brightest bulb, but generally good hearted, replied stupidly. "Jess seemed to like it so why not? Besides, you know the files on these two archeologists, so it was like a win-win deal." Not _that_ dumb I suppose.

"Yeah, how is it you know all about Dr. Preston and his wife's work?" Derrick suddenly became inquisitive and decided to turn on his brainpower full steam ahead.

"Um, I just do," I lowered my eyes. I wasn't the best liar in the world. I didn't have to be when I grew up with an aunt that didn't care if I was having sex by the age of 15. As long as I told her everything, and used a condom, she wouldn't have cared. "Their work is fascinating."

"Yeah, fascinating and _weird_," Derrick wrinkled his nose.

"Yet you sit here studying it how many years after they died?" I shot, offended by his comment.

"Whoa, calm down, I was just saying," Derrick put his hands up and suddenly I felt something on mine.

I didn't even realize that my hands were balled into fists, resting on my thighs. Gary's hand had subtly inched its way to mine and gave a gentle, comforting squeeze. I looked at him, shocked, but he just continued to stare at Derrick and talked as if he wasn't making my heart race.

"Just drop it Derrick," Gary shrugged nonchalantly, his deep voice suddenly sending chills down my spine. "She likes what the Doc does, so who cares. She's probably going to be the one that saves our asses in the end …" he looked over at me with a smile, "as always."

I couldn't even fake a half grin. I was floored. Luckily my stupor didn't last long as Jessica bounded and leaped back into the dining room where we sat announcing that we were going to meet up with a few of her high school friends for dinner. Her parents were going to be late.


	4. A ghost

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note**: Thank you to those who have reviewed. I do appreciate the feedback, it's what motivates me to keep updating. I will be returning to work very soon, winter break is almost done, and my schedule will pick up significantly. I have through chapter 21 done … but I'm still in the editing process. So please be patient, and if you like it, let others know! Thank you! 

**4. A ghost**

"So what brought on that bought of protectiveness?" I asked softly as Gary and I walked outside the local diner where Jessica had brought us to meet her friends. Despite being extremely cold out, the two of us didn't seem to care much.

"Not sure," Gary kicked a rock that probably would have left a small dent in my tiny shoe. "I guess I just felt it was time someone stuck up for … _you_." He shrugged. God what was with all the aimless gestures?

"I, um, appreciate it," I said softly, not sure how to tell him I was mostly grateful that someone had noticed I had feelings and was a human being and could possibly use a boost on the social realm. I also hoped I didn't look at him too longingly, as this was my first attempt at securing a romantic relationship with anyone. "So, um –" I cleared my throat, searching for something to say … _anything_! "What do _you_ think of the articles?" Good job, talk about academics you idiot.

"Oh they're okay," he continued with no sweat. "I mean some of the information is pretty gruesome and morbid. But I like that stuff." He smiled, and I could see his eyes ignite, even in the dim light that was cast from the open windows of the diner.

"Tell me more," was all I could manage to say, but evidently it was enough because he went on for fifteen minutes about how he grew up reading horror stories, Edgar Allen Poe was his favorite author, and he hoped to some day travel to the Amazon and do his research with the native tribes down there. He said the excitement and the idea that he may never come back alive was so thrilling could get a hard – right, okay, I'll stop there. "So this dig site is perfect for you then," I smiled at his enthusiasm. Well his enthusiasm made me smile, but also the fact that he was talking to _me_.

"Hey love birds we're going!" Kevin yelled.

Ugh, count on Kevin to ruin a moment. We looked at each other and rolled our eyes. As we turned to head back to the Escalade, a smart breeze tore my hat off my head. Normally it wouldn't have bothered me, but it was my mother's and that was something I could not lose.

"Shit!" I yelled and started running after it. Despite being a shrimp, I was very quick and I knew it would only take me a few yards to tackle the renegade hand-sewn hat.

"Let me get it," Gary called.

"No it's okay, I got it!" I instinctively yelled, but then kicked myself mentally for not taking advantage of Gary's help. I chased after it as the others cheered for me. Jessica's friend Mike was a crowd pleaser and, despite only meeting him two hours prior, was getting everyone to chant my name in unison as I ran away from them.

About seventy-five yards down the road (a lot longer than I had expected), the hat came to a halt in the middle of the street. Not really thinking, I darted out to get it, only to be met with a long, loud beep and screeching tires. I closed my eyes and curled into a ball.

_I'm dead, I'm dead … I'm dead and I'll open my eyes and see mom and dad waiting for me … I'm dead and all those people back there will be sad and crying and Gary will be mad because I didn't let him get it. I'm dead_ … I realized after chanting the morbid thought, that I was actually _not_ dead and quite alive, curled in a ball in the middle of the frozen road.

I slowly unballed myself and looked up. I was met with two sets of very curious eyes. They were both a strange glowing gold color that seemed to catch even the slightest bit of light. Upon examination of their choice of vehicle, a huge off-roading Jeep, I realized curling into a ball was probably the best idea since it was so high off the ground, it probably would have whizzed right over me. My eyes darted back to the onlookers and I waited. I'm not sure why I waited or what I was anticipating, but I couldn't be the first to move.

"She's alive Jasper," a gruff voice said and leaned, if possible, closer to me. Then he broke into a hearty laugh and I was instantly scooped off the ground and placed on my feet. "See, alive!"

The other one, Jasper, didn't think the situation was at all funny. In fact he looked downright pissed and ready to start crying himself.

"Not funny Emmett," Jasper snapped, his eyes examining me to make sure I was able to walk away in one piece.

As soon as Emmett let go of me I collapsed on the ground, but strangely my eyes stayed locked with Jasper's. These two people seemed to move extremely quickly, darting from one spot to the other, but always ending in the last place I had seen them. I knew my eyes were playing tricks on me and I wasn't thinking straight. I heard screams in the background and lots of feet rushing toward me. Panic started to well inside me and I could feel my heart racing. Emmett, who was supporting me at the time, seemed to falter a little as my heart sped up. My eyes darted to him now, but all other motor skills were currently paralyzed. He just held me as I stood stiff as a board, arms still crossed and small hands holding on tight.

"Should we bring her to Carlisle?" Emmett looked at Jasper, who didn't answer but in world record time, whipped out a cell phone, and turned. He was talking, I could tell because I could hear a buzzing sound … but that was it … just buzzing like lots of bees circling my head.

The others were only a few yards away.

"Hurry Jazz," Emmett growled. And I'm not sure why, but I suddenly felt guilty for making them stop. This was obviously inconveniencing them, and I felt like something greater than what I could comprehend at the time, was teetering on what this Carlisle said. Time moved very slowly as I stared up at Emmett's face.

"Carlisle said leave her with her friends, but to talk to them. Alice said one of them knows us … Jessica Stanley?" Jasper's voice was low and indifferent, but there was a subtle edge that I'm sure Emmett picked up on.

I saw Emmett roll his eyes. "Oh, _her_. Of all people to almost run over, I had to almost kill one of _her_ friends." The tone was clear; Jessica was not thought highly of amongst the two boys – boys? Or maybe men? They looked boyish, but they acted beyond their years. Probably sophomores in college … that seemed like a logical age for them. But I wanted to tell them that I wasn't Jessica's close friend. I could care less if I saw her again; take me to wherever this Carlisle was. But inevitably my life does not work like a fairytale and Jessica's shrill voice came bounding through the tension.

"Oh my god!" she yelled when she saw how stiff I was, being held up by Emmett. "Corey!"

"She has a name," I heard Emmett muttered so low I wasn't sure if I had imagined it. My eyes darted towards him. "Um, Jessica, right?"

The high-pitched bat sound stopped. Someone had shut her up, wow, if I ever got around to talking again, I would congratulate this Emmett.

"Ah – ah, um, yes?" she stammered.

"Hi, um, not sure if you remember me, I graduated a year ago from your high school. I'm Emmett, you remember Jasper."

Ten points for Corey, sophomores in college.

"Of – of course," Jessica, queen of gossip, the only girl who could text and talk on the phone at the same time while chatting with the person next to her, couldn't keep her thoughts straight. Maybe this Emmett was beyond hot and I just wasn't seeing him in the right lighting.

Somewhere deep inside me, my muscles began to loosen, and I twisted my back a little to see Emmett's face better. He reacted immediately, with happiness, probably because he could leave now. Jessica would be another bad memory of the past.

"Hey, she moves again! We didn't paralyze her!" Emmett looked at Jasper who had stepped even closer to the Jeep and looked like he was ready to bolt with or without Emmett in the car. "So sorry about this, Jessica. Um, she just came out of nowhere."

And that's when everything came back to me. Yes I had neglected to look both ways, but the car had come around the bend _at least_ 100mph. My body relaxed and my voice came back. I put my hands on Emmett's arm – extremely muscular, wow – and held myself up, stepping back a little. I frowned at him.

"I – I did _not_ just come o-out of n-nowhere," I stammered, still gathering my nerves, my voice in a low, yet determined tone.

"Yeah ya did, honey," Emmett shrugged. "You're lucky I've got good reflexes or else you would've been a pancake, splat!"

"But –"

"We're really sorry for the inconvenience but we must be going," Jasper cut in. I looked at him and his ghostly face sent a clear message: they _had_ to leave. "I'm sorry for the trouble, Corey. So is my brother. If you need anything, our father works at the hospital here in Forks. You can look for him there. His name is Dr. Cullen."

I continued to stare at his perfect face. I was instantly hooked. Not in a, oh, you're so hot, I want you right now way. No, I was drawn to him because I could see pain scribbled all over his face. It was an indelible part of who he was. Emmett – I quickly glanced at Emmett who was quickly talking to Jessica – was strong, sturdy, and it didn't seem like much affected him. But Jasper – eyes back on the forlorn one – was different. He was alone in some aspect of life, and so was I. I could tell he was not right …

"Thank you," I said softly, still looking into Jasper's eyes and then I turned. I kept walking, ignoring the pleading voices that told me to hold on and to let them help me. I kept walking because Jasper's ghost of a face was forever carved into the back of my mind, and I knew that I would never rest until I found out exactly what was wrong with him. Somehow I was going to find him and talk to him again … somehow we were going to become friends.


	5. Panic attack

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note**: Another chapter to set up the entrance of some more of the Cullen Clan … after this chapter it's pretty Cullen-filled … who knows, maybe even one of them will eventually get to be the narrator?? ;o)

**5. Panic attack**

We only visited the site once that weekend. We knew that this was going to take a lot of time and somehow the work was divvied successfully amongst the six of us. I took most of the brunt on the research analysis, but that was okay. It meant I was allowed to stay in Jessica's house and type our work while the five of them went to the actual dig site and collected information, and pictures.

"Hey, these are the pics we got today," Jessica called to me as she and the boys sauntered into the house. The cold, crisp smell they brought in with them was refreshing. "Want to insert the memory card into your computer?" She placed the camera next to me as she removed her scarf.

"Sure," I pressed save on the word document and popped the little chip into the side of my laptop. We scrolled through hundreds of shots. Some bad, some decent, and some really good pictures. I held my breath the whole time, trying not to hyperventilate as I observed documentation of my parents' work. "This looks good. I think we're going to really kick ass on this assignment."

"I know," Jessica smiled brightly. They were still a little retarded to the fact that I wasn't comfortable with the location of our assignment. I realized this when Jessica casually asked me to join them the next day.

"Oh, um, I don't know," I tried to come up with some reasons for not going.

"C'mon, you need to see this place," Gary winked, not-so-subtly at me.

I blushed. "Um, I think you guys have it under control. Besides, I'm not sure if my computer will like the rain."

"Look, I know why you don't want to go –"

"You do?" I froze and cut Gary off.

"Yeah," he shrugged and slid into the chair next to me at the kitchen table. "It's because you're afraid of the outdoors, like the real outdoors, and you can't admit it because you're an anthro major. I mean how embarrassing is that?"

I heaved a great sigh of relief. "Yeah, something like that." I muttered the last part.

"Good thing you have the rest of us to take care of you," he casually wrapped a strong arm around my shoulder, apparently smug with the false idea that he had somehow made me feel better.

I didn't respond, just braced myself for a really long day.

- - - - -

The whole time we drove to the dig site, or rather the place that would lead us to the trail that wound up to the dig site, I had to concentrate on breathing slow and steadily. My hands were clenched and palms clammy. Despite being about 40º that day, I was overheated, and sweating bullets. Gary kept telling me not to worry, they hadn't encountered anything dangerous and we were only going to spend a few hours there.

_A few hours_, I thought bitterly to myself as my stomach threatened to purge itself of the meager breakfast I had eaten. The whole time my mind raced over my repeating dream. It didn't come consistently, rather during times of high stress. When we first got the assignment I was dreaming almost every night of the same thing: going to the dig site and getting attacked by something. The night before heading out the site I had dreamed so vividly, I was sure that it was real. Only that dream was different – I wasn't at the dig site, rather on an abandoned road. I was walking, by myself in the middle of the night. The moon cast enough light for me to figure my way around the road, but my glasses prescription was old so everything was fuzzy. The only thing that convinced me that it was dream was the sudden appearance of Jasper. He didn't speak or do anything exciting, just appeared for a quick moment – his expression still solemn, and sad like the day he and his brother almost killed me – and then left in the blink of an eye.

"Corey … Corey," Gary shook my knee.

"Huh?" I looked up stupidly.

"We're here," he frowned, confused by my absentmindedness.

"Sure," I muttered and undid my seatbelt. I opened the door and placed one shaky foot on the cold ground. I stared up at the path that directed us to a remote location in the woods. _Here we go … are you ready to face your past, Coraline?_ I thought to myself. "No …" I of course answered.

"What, babe?" Gary asked apathetically.

"Nothing," I replied and followed behind the team.

We reached the top of the hill and primary location of the dig site in a half hour. The group didn't waste any time filling me in on any little detail they thought interesting or necessary. I barely listened to their prattling. Gary held my gloved hand as I started to shake uncontrollably. The closer we got to my parents things, the more out of control I got. Finally the group stopped in front of what looked like a place that was used to discuss the day's work or pool information because there were two big rocks placed next to each other and an abandoned fire pit dug from the ground.

"We also found this really cool instrument set," Jessica said with wonder in her voice. She was truly proud of their find, and under normal circumstances I would have applauded her efforts and investigated the supplies, but this was getting to be too much. "Here, take a look. I don't think the Doc and his wife would mind if we used them."

She didn't ask, just threw the leather bag of tools at me. I awkwardly caught it, but at the same time tried to touch it as little as possible. It was like a hot coal being tossed towards me – I didn't want to touch it. The group stared gawkily at me as I made my motions as graceful as possible (failing miserably of course). As the heavy metal tools rested in my hands, my mind raced back to when I was little.

I played back times at my parents' dig sites and me trying to be scientific by dusting off rocks that I didn't know were just ordinary sediment. I used my parents' tools when they were actually out of storage, and upon glancing down at the leather bag I saw that we were using my mother's favorite set. My hands trembled and I dropped everything on the ground. The tools hit the hard rocky area with a clatter that broke through the silence like a thousand knives. I was sure I had woken up all hibernating animals.

"Corey?" they all looked at with concerned faces.

Jess knitted her brow in worry and advanced slowly towards me. "Corey, you should sit you look pale. Guys, someone help her."

"I think I'm –" I gasped and started hyperventilating. I couldn't breathe. Air was hard to find. My arms thrashed out in front of me as I was pulled into the dark ocean of panic. "Can't breathe … I can't do this … Gary!" I felt him run to my side and catch me before I hit my head on the ground. Then my eyes closed for an indefinite amount of time.


	6. An easy read

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note**: Enjoy! :o)

**6. An easy read**

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

I was dead … again. I tried opening my eyes, but it was like they were glued shut. My eyes rolled around under closed lids, but still nothing could pull them open. My mouth wouldn't even open so I could speak to the nurse that was shuffling next to me. I heard her soft voice talking to another person. When the other person spoke though, his voice was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard. I wanted so bad to open my eyes and see who this magical person was, but then maybe this feeling of relief would disappear. But something in his tenor, and tone reminded me of Jasper's voice. Something very cold touching my wrist snapped my eyes open.

"Ah, there she is," a young, blonde man smile warmly at me. So this was where the musical voice was coming from. My eyes darted down to my wrist; he apparently was taking my pulse. He let go and wrote something on a clipboard. "Corey, my name is Dr. Cullen, but please call me Carlisle. Do you know where you are?"

Dr. Cullen … Jasper & Emmett's father. I looked around. The ceilings were white, he was wearing a white jacket, there was a beeping monitor hooked to my arm … "Hospital," was all I could mutter.

He chuckled. Was this _funny_? "Do you know _which_ hospital?"

I frowned. Not Seattle. Was I in Manhattan? "Lenox Hill?"

"Close. Try Forks," he smiled again. "New York City is three times zones ahead of us."

"Ugh," I moaned. "Wait … you, um, know where Lenox Hill is?"

Again, the chuckle. "Surprisingly I do. Now do you remember what happened?"

I closed my eyes for a moment and an image of the dig site flashed across my mind. "Vaguely …"

"Your friends called 9-1-1 and you were taken here. You were simply experiencing a very intense panic attack. I've done a few tests just to make sure but everything seems normal," he looked down at me curiously as I kept nodding. "This isn't your first anxiety attack." It wasn't a question it was a realization.

I wasn't going to answer that. Instead I averted my eyes.

"Listen, Corey, sometimes the best way to deal with these things is to just talk about them. I know I may not be the one you want to pour your heart out to" – he wasn't out of the picture – "but you need to talk to _someone_."

"I know," I muttered.

"Even if it's a complete stranger … you need to talk about this," he narrowed his eyes. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as he said this last bit. Did he know about my desire to talk to Jasper?

"Dr. Cullen, two of your boys are here, um, they said it's important," the nurse came back.

"Thank you Donna," Carlisle smiled warmly and then turned back to me. "Can you sit up and show me that you're okay to leave because judging by your face, you really don't want to stay here any longer."

I pushed myself up and slowly brought my legs over to the other side of the bed. Luckily I was still in my street clothes, no embarrassing hospital gown. I set my feet on the floor and drew a breath as I stood. For a moment I thought I was going to fall over, but I regained balance. I looked over at Carlisle for the okay to proceed.

"If you can walk to the waiting area and show me that you're okay while I get your paperwork in order, I'll release you," his presence was simply intoxicating.

_Was there anyone more seemingly magical than him?_

"Maybe Jasper," I habitually answered my own thought, and I heard Carlisle's pen skitter across the clipboard. Had he heard me?

"Excuse me," his mood had changed, but the smile remained, "I should go check on my boys. Donna, please show Corey here to the waiting area."

"Of course," Donna responded dreamily to her superior.

I sat in the bland waiting room, hoping that the paperwork wouldn't take too long since I was banking on my nerves of steel [or lack thereof] to get me out of this place. None of my group members were there, which made me wonder what time it really was. I looked at the wall clock and gasped – it was already 4:12; we had arrived at the dig site around 10:30. I must have passed out for a while, no wonder they weren't there, the staff probably sent them home. I got my cell phone out and started texting Jessica, but stopped when I saw the blatant "NO CELL PHONES" sign on the wall.

Sighing, I waited. Fifteen minutes later and still nothing. The doors opened and I turned, expecting to see Dr. Cullen or one of the nurses, but instead I saw Jasper and another beautiful looking boy. He was tall, muscular, pale, and absolutely gorgeous with rusty brown colored hair. If the dictionary only had pictures as definitions, then both boys' (and probably the rest of the Cullen men) images would have been under "perfect". Jasper's eyes locked with mine and I could tell that he was walking towards me.

All time stopped as the two boys walked over and in unison sat across from me in the sea of the chairs. I made sure that there were no other seats open before assuring myself that their location was intentional. For a moment I just stared at them. All I could think of was when I first met Jasper. He was haunted, ghostly, and in pain. The only thoughts streaming through my head that night were scenarios of how could I see him again to find out _why_ he was so tormented. The brown haired boy stared intently at me, his golden eyes bore into me light a knife, but I refused to look away. All I could focus and think of was how could I get Jasper alone so I could talk to him.

"Hi Corey," Jasper finally spoke, a low, indifferent tone.

"Jasper," I replied softly, my eyes still on the other boy.

"This is my other brother, Edward Cullen," Jasper introduced us.

"Pleasure," I said blandly.

"Likewise," Edward looked at Jasper and then me. "So, Corey, what do you think of my brothers? Crazy drivers?" A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"Understatement, I suppose," I shrugged. _Though I bet if you're that smooth with words then you can get away with murder._ Edward suddenly stifled a laugh. "I amuse you?"

"You have no idea," Edward looked at Jasper and said something so quickly, I was sure it wasn't English.

I glared at Edward, willing him to just leave us alone. As if he were reading my mind, Edward suddenly stood. "Sorry to leave, but I have to get back to Renesmee and Bella. Corey, I'm sorry for your unfortunate first encounter with my brothers … I would like to personally apologize for Emmett's reckless driving. He's not used to having tiny people like yourself darting out into the street with abandon."

I opened my mouth to say something, but shut it. _What the hell? I did not run out with abandon. Your idiot brother was going a million miles per hour! Stupid, stubborn boys, can't even admit to speeding._ "Right …" I muttered and then turned my eyes to Jasper.

"Well, maybe you can keep Jasper here company while my dad finishes up with some stuff," Edward clapped Jasper on the back with a resounding thud, which I'm sure would have hurt a normal human, but Jasper didn't even flinch.

_Are they made of metal?_ I thought crazily. _Finally, just go, please. I need to talk to Jasper … What should I ask first? How are you? Why do you look so upset? You're so stupid sometimes Coraline! _I berated myself, using my full name.

"Coraline …" Edward muttered, and my eyes darted up to his. "Um."

"You know my full name?" I stood, ready to run.

"Saw it on the patient board," Edward shrugged and turned to leave, tossing a set of keys at Jasper. Without flinching, Jasper caught them lithely. "Be careful with her." For some reason I heard a double meaning in those words, but he was obviously talking about the car … obviously. "Rosalie is here to drive me home. I'll see you later. Corey, nice to meet you, have a good evening."

I didn't respond, just glared back at him. _What was with the good looks and musical voices in this family? There is __no way__ Carlisle is their biological father!_ Once Edward was out the door I turned towards Jasper, who seemed pretty distraught.

"You want to talk to me," he said softly. Again, not a question, just a statement. Was I _that_ easy to read?

"Um …" I bit my lower lip and sat again. "Yeah." Silence. He didn't seem upset by my hesitation, but I could see his fists starting to ball and knuckles turn whiter than his already pale skin. "Are you okay?"

Jasper frowned. "Excuse me?"

"You were upset the night I met you. Are you okay?"

"What makes you think I was or still am upset?" he continued to scowl.

"It's written all over your face," I pressed. "You didn't _want_ to leave that night … you, um, _needed_ to leave that night. There was something wrong. I could just tell."

And then I saw it, the first sign of emotion: panic. Panic was instantly etched across his face and his knuckles became whiter still. I wanted to get up and touch his hand, and tell him that it was going to be okay. But I couldn't. I wouldn't. There was an indelible line that separated us that I could not cross. He would have to be the one to cross it.

"Would you consider yourself psychic?" Jasper spoke a little lower this time, but still in a steady, musical voice.

"No," I shook my head, "just on the same wavelength as other people. I really am pretty good at figuring people out. I've always had this ability to _connect_ with others. Not everyone, but a lot of people. I can just tell what they're thinking at the time or something. It's weird. Sometimes I even say the same thing at the same time as my friends. It's almost freaky."

"Yeah, I bet," he cracked a half smile. It sent my heart racing, not because I thought it was cute – which it was – but because he was alive! He could show another emotion besides depression!

"So am I wrong? You _needed_ to leave that night, not that you necessarily wanted to?"

He sighed and almost like there was a silent cue, Carlisle walked through the double doors carrying a bunch of forms. He smiled at me and handed me a bunch of papers to sign. As he guided me through the maze of carbon copies, he commented on Jasper's presence.

"I see you've met my son Jasper," he said casually.

"Yeah, we actually met before," I met Jasper's eyes and realized that if I went into further detail that would be bad.

"Oh? Really? Where?"

"Um, at, um, the diner. It was my first time in Forks," I lied, hoping it was enough.

Apparently it was because Carlisle just smiled. "That's nice. Jasper, why don't you give Corey here a ride back to Jessica Stanley's so that the others don't have to go out in this awful weather."

"Oh, no, that's okay," my eyes went wide and my signature suddenly said 'Coraline Gilbe___' as the pen skidded and drew an awkward straight line where the 'r' & 't' should have been. "I can just call."

"Don't be silly, Jasper is leaving now anyways. I looked up the files, and there isn't anything to worry about, at least according to _Alice_."

I frowned at the emphasis on the name. Alice. Who was she? Another nurse? I handed the forms and clipboard back to Carlisle.

"I'm not sure if that's the best idea. I mean did Alice say anything about driving home? It could get bad," Jasper asked as casually as possible, but there was anxiety in his tone.

"No, she said you'll be okay," Carlisle smiled confidently. I got the strange feeling they weren't talking about a nurse and their conversation was so far beyond my understanding that I simply gave up.

"New car," Jasper looked at me and dangled the keys. "Apparently my family thinks I'm to be trusted with the new Audi, but I hold my reservations." He looked at Carlisle who nonchalantly shrugged and turned to go.

"Corey, if you feel faint, need anything else, please don't hesitate to come back. And remember what I said before about talking to someone," I swear I saw Carlisle's eyes flicker to Jasper, but by the time I had registered this, he was staring intently back at me.

"Sure, thanks Doctor – er, Carlisle," I turned to Jasper. "So, um, want to drive me back to Jessica's?"

"Okay …" Jasper muttered and we walked out to the parking lot where the rain was falling and slowly turning to ice.


	7. Drive

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note**: Thank you for reading & special thanks to those who wrote reviews. Constructive comments always welcomed – I try to make this as real to Stephanie's characters as possible! Enjoy! :o)

**7. Drive**

I followed Jasper to a brand new, beautiful fire engine red Audi convertible. It was a two passenger car with sterling new everything. I was never a car person, but I knew magnificent engineering when I saw it. I could see now why Jasper held his reservations about driving it. If I was offered to drive the new family vehicle that looked like this I probably would have peed my pants. But then again, Diana probably wouldn't have cared if I got into a fender bender or anything. I could do no wrong in her eyes, right?

"Right," I muttered to myself with a smile as I approached to door.

"What's that?" Jasper's head turned towards me – he _heard_ that?

"Nothin' just talking to myself," I smiled and got in after the doors unlocked. I fastened the seat belt and watched as Jasper fixed the position of the seat.

"We usually don't share cars … mostly for this reason," Jasper chuckled, trying to get the seat at exactly the right distance from the pedals. When it was to his liking he started the car. "So do you know where Jessica lives?"

My eyes went wide. I simply shook my head.

"Good thing I do then," he smiled and put the car in drive. And then all my fears of getting in the car with a boy that is turned on by the sound of a sweet ride came to life as Jasper whipped out of the parking lot faster than was legal I'm sure. He saw my right hand clutching the 'oh shit' handle, and the left two inches away from grabbing his wrist. "Oh … sorry … bad habit."

"So I obviously wasn't making it up when I accused Emmett of going a million miles per hour!" I finally inhaled a deep breath as the speedometer went down to 60.

"Eh, probably not, but don't quote me. My family has a bad tendency to go fast … it explains the cars we drive," he shrugged. As the car slowed, so did my pulse and my left hand that was so close to grabbing Jasper relaxed and rested comfortably on my lap. "So, um, what do you want to talk about? Carlisle said that you needed someone to talk to?"

My eyes went wide. "Isn't that a HIPAA violation?"

"Um, I don't think so," he shrugged – again, the indifference! "I mean he didn't _tell_ me anything. He just said that you were here and needed someone to talk to. I mean I of course told him what happened that other night –"

"So I _didn't_ have to make up that crappy lie before?" I rolled my eyes. "Thanks."

"Well, it doesn't matter. He doesn't think any less of you. I promise, Carlisle is very understanding … So –" he cut himself off and I looked at him curiously. The frustration and pain that lived inside of him surfaced again. There was something he wanted to say but couldn't.

"So … what?" I pushed.

"Nothing, what did you want to talk about?"

"Why did you have to leave that night? Was it Jessica because she can be pretty nutty? I mean not that I care or anything, but why do you have such an aversion to her?" I stifled a laugh recalling their reaction when they found out they almost killed Jessica Stanley's friend.

"She's just … she's just your typical teenage girl," he spoke as if he were fifty years older than us. "She sees the world through the eyes of a girl that's driven by hormones. All of us, me, Edward and Emmett, have been the object of Jessica's affection at one point in high school." He looked over at me with a frustrated expression. "It gets _annoying_ you know."

"Yeah …" I realized that he was still staring at me as a sharp turn was coming. "Oh my god, Jasper!"

"What?" he didn't even look at the road as the car turned effortlessly.

"H-how did you do th-that?" I stammered and was ready to leap from the car – though the question as to whether I was safer jumping or staying in was debatable.

"Do what? I'm an excellent driver, Corey. Don't worry," he turned his eyes back to the road, though I think he only did it for my benefit. His mind was wandering; I could see his expression beginning to fade.

"Jasper?"

"Yes?"

"You were annoyed by Jessica also because …" I felt embarrassed to say it because I was afraid he would misconstrue my prying for personal gain. But I wasn't. "Um, you didn't really like her because you _had_ or have someone." This time it was _my_ turn to just make a statement.

Silence. "Yeah," he replied blandly.

"I told you I'm good at reading people," I smiled and he looked over at me. I pushed my strawberry-blonde hair behind my ears nervously.

"You are definitely psychic," he said accusingly, almost menacingly, as if I were purposely keeping a secret from him.

"No …" I replied softly, a little taken back by his tone.

"So why did you have a panic attack?" he was back to staring at me and not the road.

I buttoned my lips and looked away. I wasn't going to talk to _him_ about this. This was _my_ investigation! After two minutes of silence I finally turned back to him, really just to see if he was focusing on the road or not. He wasn't.

"My last name isn't Gilbert," I said coldly.

"Is that what it says on your license?"

"Yeah, but it's not my real last name."

"Why switch it?"

"Who said I switched it?" I automatically became defensive.

"Okay," he rolled his eyes, "why isn't it your real last name?"

I muttered a few choice swear words, then spoke coherently. "Because I switched it …"

"And _why_?" he asked, though it seemed like he was being forced to interact with me. He didn't want to be there, but he did. He was curious, but at the same time indifferent.

"If I tell you why, will you answer one of my questions?"

Silence. "Depends."

"I switched my last name because I am the daughter of two very well-known anthropologists. They are famous in the research world as well as the same people that read National Geographic or Smithsonian. I am attending the University of Washington under the stipulation that I follow in my parents' footsteps."

"So they wouldn't admit you if you studied art?"

"They probably would, but I wouldn't get my free ride."

"Ah, I see …" he gracefully spun the car into Jessica's driveway.

"My turn."

"We're here."

"My turn," I pressed and waited for a rebuke, but Jasper remained silent. "Why did you have to leave that night?"

Jasper's hands gripped the steering wheel again, his knuckles turning white. His jaw tensed and he clenched his teeth. I could almost hear the grinding between his molars. This wasn't going to stop me from finding out what he was hiding. I inched closer to him and he became tenser. My heartbeat sped up to an ungodly tempo and I reached a shaky hand out. Just as my fingertips rested on his shoulder, Jasper snapped backwards, which almost sent himself through the window.

My eyes went wide and I too retracted. It was not the reaction I was expecting and I had all but peed my pants. My hands trembled uncontrollably as the two of us stared horror-struck at each other. Neither moved. I didn't know whether it was because we were both too afraid or if we wanted to see what the next move would be. The sound of voices broke our stare and we saw Jessica and company running towards us.

"You should go," Jasper muttered.

"No," I shot, pressing the lock down on my door. "Why did you leave?"

"For the same reason I have to leave now!" he roared. "If I don't leave people will get hurt!"

I frowned, actually hurt by the fact that I had told him some of my secrets, but he wouldn't say a word. "Preston," I hissed and opened the door.

"What?" he shook his head, not sure if I was talking English.

"My name is really Coraline Preston. Bye Jasper," I shot and slammed the door to the beautiful car shut as hard as possible.


	8. The Cullens

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note**: Reviews always welcomed! Enjoy! :o)

**8. The Cullens**

"So …" Jessica said curiously as the two of us snuggled into our respective beds in her bedroom. The boys were stuffed in the den.

"Yes?"

"Jasper Hale gave you a ride home," she seemed very intent on talking about this.

"I thought his last name was Cullen," I replied as indifferently as possible.

"Well see he's adopted by Dr. & Mrs. Cullen. It's really crazy actually …" and Jessica launched into a whole song and dance about the family.

She explained about all the adopted children and how they are all bizarrely beautiful. Jasper, Emmett and Edward's names came up of course, but new ones also, Alice, Rosalie and Bella. Alice. Then it dawned on me why the reference sounded familiar – Jasper had mentioned her name the night they almost ran me over. She explained the odd disappearance of the family at the beginning of the school year her senior year and how Bella had gone into utter depression. The monologue finally ended about a half hour later with Bella and Edward's wedding. So then who was Renesmee?

"A child?" I muttered.

"What?" Jessica looked down at me from her own bed.

"Nothing …" I replied, turning over on the air mattress.

"So do like have a thing for Jasper?"

"Ha, _no_," I shot; probably a little more emphatically than necessary, but the bitter taste of his outburst was still in my mouth.

"Riiiight," I could hear the gossipy grin in her tone.

"Seriously Jess, _no_," I rolled my eyes and tried to sleep.

Two hours later I was still awake and tossing thoughts of Jasper around in my head. I replayed our first encounter over and over. Then I replayed my experience with his "father" in the hospital. There was definitely something off, but what? Maybe they were apart of organized crime or something highly illegal. That would explain why being around others would bring harm to them. But then again it seemed like Carlisle was a model citizen – what a perfect ruse.

I sighed and got up, slowly, quietly and carefully. I put on boots, my heavy jacket and hat and took a walk outside. The frigid air felt good in my lungs, but really all I was doing was pushing aside my previous thoughts so that more could enter. Then I got to wondering what this Alice was like. And then I secretly fantasized about becoming apart of their family. I always wanted to do something illegal – maybe that's how they got all those nice cars, they boosted them. I actually laughed out loud at that thought and pushed my glasses up. And then it dawned on me.

I stopped walking and froze. I looked around, all the house lights were out, and even the streetlights had gone black. I was alone, outside, and walking around in the middle of the night in the road. My glasses created a perpetual fuzzy line around everything. I tried to breathe, but my nerves were shot. I was actually living out my latest dream. Slowly I turned back to the house, and before I knew it I was sprinting across the lawn to the door. Then my stomach dropped as I tried to push it open. It was locked.

"No," I gasped and tried again. "No!" I was afraid to wake everyone up – what would they think? Maybe the back door was open? "Maybe …" I skittered to the backyard where the pale moon was almost completely blocked by the overbearing trees. It was unnerving to be surrounded by total blackness. "Come on …" I tried the back door, but it too was locked.

Sighing, I knew I would have to swallow my pride and knock before I turned into a Corey-sickle. As I raised my hand to rap on the door, I heard a low growl. My heart skipped a beat and my hand faltered. I turned, eyes darting everywhere, but nothing. Of course I wasn't going to see anything, I was blind as a bat. I held my breath as long as possible, straining my ears, but nothing, just the wind against the trees. I turned to knock again, but –

"NOOO -!" I screamed as the growl turned to a shriek and closed in behind me, but something or rather _someone_ dove out of nowhere, covering my mouth and rolling to the ground with me under their arm. I couldn't breathe and I certainly couldn't move. I was paralyzed with fear. Frozen fingers covered my mouth and it took me a moment to realize that whoever was holding me was not breathing … or wearing a jacket.

"Do _not_ move," a low voice hissed. It was beautiful, like melted adrenaline that woke my mind up, and I turned to see Edward Cullen holding me tightly. My eyes followed his. I didn't see anything, but apparently he did because he suddenly leapt up and began running with me in his arms, no longer a hand over my mouth, but both holding me close to his body. I closed my eyes, not sure why the world was passing in such a blur. We continued on this astronomical speedy course for at least ten minutes, and when we stopped and my eyes finally opened, we were nowhere near Jessica's house. "How many?"

"Three," a deep voice responded – Emmett's.

"Where's Alice?" Edward still held me.

"Coming with Jasper. Bella and Rosalie are circling the two newborns and their leader," Emmett proceeded. "Hey little one." His eyes were still gold, but there were flecks of black in the iris now. I turned my head like a child and covered my face. "Here she is."

"Edward, we have to take her back," a soft musical voice rang out in the dead silence. I spread my fingers to see a tiny, dark haired girl standing in front of us. She was beautiful, pale skin, and features that I would die for. "Oh is this the hu –"

"Alice!" Edward hissed. I looked up at him and finally gained enough energy to squirm, but he didn't let go. "She doesn't know anything, nor does she need to. We need Carlisle."

"He's with Bella and Rosalie … Esme stayed home with Renesmee and Jacob," Alice explained casually as if talking about her favorite color.

"Edward put me down!" I pushed off his chest but to no avail. "I'm not a child, put me down!"

"I could run her over again …" Emmett said jokingly, but the growl that came from Edward suggested otherwise. "Right … well what is she thinking?"

I looked up and frowned. Edward's golden eyes locked with mine. _I'm dreaming … I'm still in my dream and I'm going to roll right off the bed and hit the floor …_

"Nothing dangerous," Edward sighed and turned. That's when I saw him – Jasper.

He was paler than usual and still very tense. Alice was holding his hands and talking to him. She touched him and caressed him, why couldn't I just pat him on the shoulder? He was afraid of hurting other people, but his family was indestructible? What the hell? Anger started to build in my chest and I could feel my muscles tense. Not having use of my legs was a little unsettling, but of all the things that disturbed me most, was how this tiny girl – who probably was no bigger than me, and I'm sure weighed less – could touch and poke Jasper, yet I couldn't.

"She's fascinated by Jasper," Edward muttered to Emmett, a hint of awe in his voice. Emmett just sniffed the air and turned his nose up.

"They never find me attractive," he replied.

Um what? He had to be joking, right?

"No, he wasn't," Edward looked down at me. Oh Lord, no wonder Jasper asked me if I was psychic, his whole family is a bunch of circus freaks! I covered my face again, as if _that _would help me. Edward chuckled heartily and then turned to Alice. "What do we do?"

"We let her go … she doesn't know enough to figure it out and she won't talk," Alice stared intently at me and then walked – rather danced – over to me. "Nah, she's a good girl, I don't see anything threatening. I'll keep an eye on her though, just in case!"

"What about the newborns and their leader?" Jasper finally spoke and my eyes locked with his.

"Bella, Rosalie and Carlisle will deal with them. I think the pack is on it too. Jacob summoned their help. She'll be okay at the Stanley girl's house," Alice replied confidently.

"Where are they headed now, Alice?" Edward asked gruffly.

"Mmm … headed towards Seattle. But I see Rosalie cutting them off in two minutes."

"I'll take Corey back," he said.

"Oh, pretty name!" Alice chirped and again, was inches away from my face. "Is it short for anything? Oh and she smells good too –"

"Alice!" the boys all hissed.

I tilted my head and looked at her curiously.

"Her full name is Coraline _Preston_," Jasper walked – correction: glided – over to us. "I think we're in the clear, Edward. Let's take her back."

There was a moment of silence, and then Edward spoke to Jasper as if answering an unsaid thought. "Are you sure, Jazz?"

"I'll be fine," he put his hands out.

"Yes, of course you will," Alice said promptly. "I'll see you back at the house. Bye Corey, I'll see you later I'm _sure_." And in a blink of an eye she disappeared into the darkness.

_I want to be able to do that,_ I thought mesmerized.

"No. You don't," Edward said sternly as he stepped closer to Jasper. It didn't really freak me out that he was reading my mind – father it fascinated me. I always wished I had superhuman powers and strengths. I heard that psychics and mentalists were all a bunch of crap, but to really be in the presence of a true mind reader was quite a treat. Edward's motions stopped my thoughts as he lightly tossed me into Jasper's arms. As soon as he caught me, my mind blanked and I froze. "She's worried, Jazz, take it slow."

"I will," he replied solemnly and turned.

"Wait," I looked at Edward and decided to really test his mental abilities. _Will I see your family again?_

"I sure hope not," he replied dryly and turned, never looking back. Emmett followed and that left Jasper and I alone in an empty field.

"Let's go," he began walking slowly, but after five minutes began picking up speed. It was like we were flying through the air, but we never hit an ounce of turbulence. "What you saw here tonight is very private, do you understand?"

"Of course," I said softly.

"You can't tell anyone."

"Who would I tell?" I shot. "_Jessica_?"

"What about your boyfriend, Gary?"

"Yeah, right, _boyfriend_," I scoffed sarcastically.

It took another fifteen minutes to get back to Jessica's; we weren't moving as quickly as Edward was before. To finally feel the ground under my feet was weird. I collapsed at first, but Jasper offered an arm. This act caused me to stop and stare at him in disbelief. After realizing how this looked through his eyes, I straightened myself up and willed my feet to hold their own. Jasper glided over to the front door and lifted the flowerpot on the porch. He held up a shiny silver key.

"Please tell me you guessed that a key would be there," I said in embarrassment.

"Yeah, a lucky guess," he replied off-handedly, unlocked the door and then put the key back. "Good night Corey. I'm sorry our third encounter had to be so, um, late and under very bizarre circumstances. Perhaps our next meeting will be more pleasant."

"There's going to be another meeting?" I turned to him.

"There is a chance," he replied indifferently and then stepped back. "I have to go, being around this house full of, um, people is not good for me."

"Wait," I put my hand up, "promise me something."

"Depends."

Grrr. I pushed aside my mental frustration.

"Next time we meet … will you tell me why you had to leave the night we first met?"

"What is with that question?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Please?"

Jasper sighed. "I promise."

"Good night," I said softly, and shut the door behind me. The clock read 4:39am … waking up the next day was going to be awful.


	9. Save me

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note**: Thanks to those who reviewed & those who have signed up for alerts. It is encouraging to see there are people that are interested. Also – if you have some good suggestions for other Twilight stories to read, I'm all ears … I love fan fiction! Please enjoy the story!

**9. Save me**

The rest of the semester flew. We received an A on the report and all ended up with A's in the class as well. Gary and I started dating very casually. It wasn't anything serious – just a series of dinner dates and cuddling. But it was nice to have someone to spend the nights with and just be there for me. I hadn't forgotten about the Cullen family, and the time I had spent in the arms of Edward and Jasper. They were the coldest experiences of my life, yet the most magical. Something about that night was so fantastical that even if I was allowed to tell anyone else about, I'm not sure I would have simply because it was my own personal experience.

But I found myself thinking about the Cullens less and less as the semester waned. I decided to stay on the west coast and live between Jessica and Gary's places. Both friends' parents offered their homes in sympathy when their kids told my tragic story of having no parents and getting landed with an aunt that was a workaholic. Okay so in reality it wasn't that bad, but why not play it up so we got our way?

"God remember the first night you guys came here?" Jessica asked as we ate popcorn and watched a chick flick.

"Heh, yeah," I chuckled recalling my near-death experience with Emmett's Jeep.

"Seriously though, not even a _little_ crush on one of the Cullen boys?"

"Not really," I shrugged. "I mean Edward is really good looking, but I don't really think of him … at all. And Emmett almost killed me so forget that."

Silence. "What about Jasper?"

I looked over at her eager face. What about Jasper? He was the bane of my existence but at the same time the glue that kept everything together. "I don't think of him like that …"

"I don't know, Corey –"

"He's too emotionally retarded for me," I muttered and got up to get some more soda. That was actually wrong – it was more like he was so deep that I couldn't even imagine diving into his pool of emotions for fear of drowning. I stared out the kitchen window. The sky was gray and dull – as usual – but something called for me outside. "Hey Jess, want to go for a hike?"

An hour later we were heading back to my parents' dig site. Jessica refused at first, saying something along the lines of not wanting to call 9-1-1 again, but it wouldn't be so bad if she got to see Dr. Cullen again. I couldn't disagree with her completely. We looked like two marshmallows with backpacks hiking up the mountain. Once at the site I heaved a sigh and gritted my teeth. I knew what to expect, but my palms still became sweaty and my heart raced.

"What are we doing here?" Jessica asked aimlessly as she kicked a rock around. "I'm kinda cold."

"Go back to the car then."

"I can't just _leave_ you here."

But I could tell she wanted to. "No, seriously, Jess, go back to the car. I'll be down as soon as possible. I just want to look around." She met my eyes with hesitation; even Jessica had her selfless moments. "Go!" I laughed and playfully shoved her down the trail.

"Okay, okay," she smiled. "I'll see you in a little and if you need anything, I have my cell phone. Call."

"Of course!" I rolled my eyes and began my solo investigation.

For ten minutes I looked around at the site. My group had recovered most of the abandoned tools and brought them back to the University to be put on display. We had photographed the place to death so there wasn't much else that needed to be explored, except the cave. It was too creepy for even the boys to investigate. I walked in, shining a flashlight on the walls. What I saw floored me.

There were hand drawn pictures from a really long time ago. There were images of human sacrifices, people being offered to the gods, and then pictures of people biting other people. Frowning, I followed the images even further in. They became more graphic, showing people biting people. Blood dripped from their teeth and onto the floor. Possibly cannibals? I frowned.

If I continued any further then the light from the opening would disappear completely. Was I willing to sacrifice that in order to satisfy my curiosity? As I turned I kicked something hard. Shining the flashlight down on the floor, I screamed at the top of my lungs. A decaying human corpse lay completely frozen on the ground. The smell was caught in the frigid state of the body, so not until I had literally kicked the head did I realize where I was standing. My hands shook as I fell backwards and began scrambling towards the outside. The flashlight bounced all over the cave, but once it was steadied, I was not ready for what lay before me – a graveyard of corpses. Some were decaying, others were just skeletons. I screamed – what else was I going to do? I screamed, got up and ran out of the cave.

Once in the fresh air I started to hyperventilate again. What the hell had my parents been investigating? What the hell gave them the idea of looking for ancient burial rituals in Washington State? I turned my head to the cave. I remember when they found this site – I was eight at the time – two years before they died. They were so excited – their fantasies and theories of blood rituals amongst the natives of Washington State were true. They had spoken to the Indian tribes in the area also, but they were reluctant to give such information out. It was as if they too were protecting a secret. _Blood letting_ … that's what they thought was going on. Rather it was …

"Blood … _drinking_," I muttered, horrified. It took another five minutes for me to compose myself enough to stand straight and will my legs forward. But that's when it happened – the growl. I was destined to live my dreams, rather nightmares. Images of my first detailed dream came back to me. "It's not real … it's not real, Corey …" I muttered to myself as I looked up just in time to see a bush rustle, but nothing there to cause its motion. "Just run, run as fast as you can, Corey." My feet were once again lead.

This time the growl came from behind. It didn't sound like an animal growl. It sounded like the one I had heard the night the Cullens had rescued me. It sounded like what they had called a "newborn". My right foot slid forward and the growl became louder. Tears streamed down my face as I imagined the pain I was going to endure when whatever it was behind me attacked. The hairs on my neck stood completely up and goose bumps covered my skin. Hands shaking, I slowly slid my left foot and tried turning.

I waited for the growl again, but nothing. I turned a little more. No growl, no sound. I was practically ready to bolt down the hill when the growl turned to a chuckle. It was hollow, dark, and cruel. This was almost worse than the growl because then I could excuse an animal for thinking I was food. This was a human and here I was going to be their _entertainment_. I shut my eyes and prayed silently. I prayed until I was pushed to the ground.

My eyes sprang open as something jumped up and landed on my back, causing a cracking sound in two of my ribs.

"Ahhhh!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, my breath completely taken and tears rolling down my face.

A nauseous feeling emerged as I felt my ribs breaking. I was paralyzed with fear and pain and I knew that this was going to be the end. The thing got off my back and this time took my foot, dragging me. My hands tried to grab hold of the rocks, but whatever was pulling me was stronger. My nails broke on the rocks as I clung to them with all my strength. I was no match for whatever this _thing_ was. Suddenly I was turned over on to my back, sharp jagged pain running up and down my side. I screamed at the top of my lungs, white lights dancing across my vision, blinding me. My vision finally returned and I realized that I was indeed being taken by a human.

"No! No!" I willed myself to kick, but it was a feeble attempt. I was as useful as a wet noodle. I dug into my pocket for my cell phone. As soon as I dialed "9", the person stopped, dropped my foot and in less than a second had grabbed the phone out of my hand. It was a man. He had long hair, snarling mouth and blood red eyes, but still perfectly pale skin. I gasped when I saw his tragically beautiful demon-like face. His hands were ice cold against mine and with one flick of his hand the cell phone was destroyed. "Stop! What do you want! Stop!"

He laughed. The man _laughed_ as I begged for mercy, for him to stop. I had only read about people being abducted like this. This wasn't happening. I was going to die at the hands of a madman, and no one would even know. How long until Jessica figured I was missing? Would he be able to get away with this? The man turned, grabbed my foot and dragged me into a clearing where two others waited. They had the same bloody eyes and menacing look. They were all crazy – on drugs. But what made me actually throw up a little was the fact that they were _playing_ with a corpse. They were taking turns biting it and then ripping flesh off. It was a serial killer movie gone very wrong.

"Hannah …" the man who was pulling me cooed to one of the two girls. A blonde girl stopped her frantic dancing and looked at us. She was … _beautiful_. Oh my god, she had long blonde hair that glistened even though there was no sun and pale perfect features … just … like …

"Alice," I gulped, but threw up again. Spitting and wiping my mouth, I turned to see Hannah walking over. Rather she … "Glided …" I kept finishing my thoughts out loud.

"This is the one that got away from you last time?"

"Yes," Hannah bent down and crouched next to me. I was having a hard time breathing. Air came in small gasps and I knew it was only a matter of time before I died of suffocation. "Coraline Preston …"

I looked at her, stunned. She knew my name. Her claw like fingers grabbed my hair and pulled my face within inches of hers. Blood dripped from her mouth in a perfect cascade. Hannah drew a deep breath and smiled. "Smells so good … truly … you do, Coraline. You smell like … mmm … fresh flowers … so mouth watering."

"W-who are you? What d-do you want?" I gasped.

"You smell like your _mother_," she hissed. Tears streamed down my face as she said this. "They were so close to figuring us out, Coraline! So close! Those papers they published would have exposed us all! We would have been destroyed and ruined. Carlisle surely suspected something, and those articles, accusing the ancient people of such crazy traditions like blood letting and drinking. Surely we would have been driven off this side of the mountain within a few months if we hadn't stopped them! Killed them!"

I stared horror-struck at her. The animal that had killed my parents was really a … "Vampire?" I gasped.

Hannah laughed and threw me back to the ground. I cried helplessly as the pain overtook me. I was surely going to die of a punctured lung soon enough. The world was starting to go black. I didn't even feel it when they tried waking me up by kicking my leg with so much force that it broke, distorting the position of my femur. The pain was so intense that it numbed my body. I could feel myself slipping from the real world, darkness was coming faster and I welcomed it. I welcomed the cool reprieve of the end of my life. Just as I knew I was drawing my last breath an angelic voice brought me back.

"Corey!"

I couldn't lift my eyes, just raised my fingers until I felt an ice-cold hand in mine.

"Corey …" the voice said again. It was the tenor of a voice I would never forget.

"Jas …" I stammered, blood filled my mouth and started choking on it.

"Corey, you are … Edward! Come back!"

"Say … me …" my words and thoughts were so disconnected, I couldn't even ask to be saved properly. "Save …" I felt his hand tighten around mine.

"I can't," he said with such a tone it was as if he were fighting an internal war. There were other whispers but I couldn't decipher what they were saying.

"Save …" it was like being in the cave again, and the light at the end of the tunnel was just a pinpoint in the distance. In my mind I saw Jasper standing by the Jeep again. I smiled, knowing that this would be my last image. At least I had tried to talk to him. At least – "Ah …" I gasped as I felt pain almost worse than my broken ribs. The pain though was coming from my wrist. My eyes shot open for two seconds. They locked with Jasper's horrified eyes as his teeth sank into my radial artery and then everything went black.


	10. Killing Corey

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note**: First, there will be a change of narrators (as semi-promised before). As you can see, the second part of the story is narrated by Jasper Hale … Second, please review, it keeps the words flowing more freely.

_**Two: Jasper Hale**_

**10. Killing Corey**

"We're going hunting now," Edward said as he walked through the house.

I was reading over a Civil War book while having a thumb war with Alice. I shut the book and let Alice win. She pretended to hate my giving in, but I could tell she loved getting her way. She crawled over the table and onto my lap, wrapping her tiny arms around my neck. I set the book on table and ran out the back door with Alice in my arms. In one lithe motion I set her down and the two of us were racing around the yard, waiting for the rest of the family.

The sour smell of wolf pierced my nose as I turned to see Jacob and Renesmee running out the door also. Bella and Edward were not far behind, holding hands, and staring longingly into each other's eyes. I looked down at Alice who only giggled and tapped my nose as she danced off into the woods. I followed her as willingly as I did the first day we had met.

As we ran my eyes drifted to the far mountain where I knew Corey's study group had been researching. After looking up a said Dr. Preston and his findings in the world of anthropology on Google, I found out why Corey had been having panic attacks. When she was ten years old her parents were brutally killed in an animal attack on the mountain. Their blood literally stained the ground. No wonder Corey had wound up in the hospital.

I looked over at Alice who smiled lovingly at me. I returned the gesture and then let my mind wander again as her tiny hand tugged me along. Corey – what an interesting human. It seemed like our family was just a magnet for bizarre humans. First it was Bella, now it was Corey. Why had the newborns and their leader wanted to hurt her that night? That question still plagued my thoughts. I mean she _was_ outside by herself in the dead of night like an idiot … but Edward said they were all thinking one thing: kill Corey – not kill the random girl, but specifically Corey. Rosalie and Bella had killed the newborns, but the leader had escaped. We set up perimeter around Jessica's house the rest of that weekend and even followed Corey as they drove back to Seattle.

We took shifts watching over the group in Seattle as well, but nothing else came of it. We figured it was just some random obsession. Maybe they were attracted to her smell – it was nice, fresh flowers, like roses in summer. I know it still burned the back of my throat. All she wanted to know was why I couldn't stay that night and even then I couldn't answer her. She was so … _in tune_ with my thoughts. I bet she was psychic and didn't even know it.

"Stop thinking of her," Edward muttered as he ran past me.

I looked over at Alice, but her attention was elsewhere. Actually, she was slowing. No wonder Edward and Bella had lapped us. Within seconds we were at a stand still. I looked at her curiously; no one else seemed to notice. Alice had that look we had come to know and understand well – she was seeing something.

"What is it?" I pressed.

"Corey," she said softly, still staring into the distance.

"What about her?"

"Danger … she is being attacked … by vampires … at the dig site …" Alice suddenly blinked and looked at me. "Oh god, the one Bella and Rosalie didn't kill."

"Edward!" I yelled at the top of my lungs and sprinted off to the dig site. It was going to be a good ten minutes before any of us got there. Even Edward, as fast as he was, could not get to the top of that mountain before any harm came to Corey.

Hunting was officially called off. Me, Alice, Edward and Bella raced to the dig site. Bella had sent Jacob and Renesmee back to the house to inform Carlisle and Esme of what was going on. I knew Carlisle would set up a temporary hospital, expecting us to bring her back.

We raced at lightening speed to the mountain. Edward got ahead of us. The whole time Alice's expression was grim. I didn't want to know what she had seen. Bella, still a newborn herself, was faster than Alice and I. She raced just behind Edward. When we finally got to the dig site the smell of blood and vampires filled my nose. The four of us looked around and Edward's head turned, obviously picking up on their thoughts. Alice nodded, knowing this was where her vision was leading us.

Around the corner the scene was horrid. Vampires ripping human corpses to shreds, and Corey, on the ground, writhing in pain. She was gasping, her heart trying to pump enough blood through her system but it was dying. With every breath she took, her heart beat less and less. Edward and Bella had vanished from my side and were positioning themselves to attack from behind. It wasn't until they kicked her leg, and I heard the earth-shattering break in her femur that I knew we were too late. As if the sound was the signal to attack, both Bella and Edward leaped into the circle of vampires. Alice was not far behind.

The three of them were skilled fighters and could handle themselves. I knew that Alice was much stronger than she looked, but I couldn't resist going to her side. Together we pulled the man apart. Alice, sure that I had the situation under control, began gathering grass and leaves, anything that would burn, and pulled a lighter from Corey's backpack. There was a fire and soon pieces of vampire were burning in the flames, the rancid smell filling my nose. Bella and Edward were handling the other two magnificently, and I let Alice almost gleefully snap the one's neck as I rushed to Corey's side.

Her eyes were fluttering uncontrollably, as if she were seizing. Her eyes were rolled back in her head I could barely feel her pulse.

"Corey!" I yelled, trying to make her snap out of unconsciousness. It sort of worked. Her fingers lifted slightly and I wrapped my hand in hers. "Corey …" I said more softly.

"Jas …" she couldn't even finish my name.

Panic rose in my chest. I could feel the urge to bite her surface. I fought hard against the thirst, but it was not easy to resist. She had to get to Carlisle, but if I tried helping her I would probably kill her.

"Corey, you are … Edward! Come back!" I called for my brother, but they were having a hard time with the one vampire. The leader that had survived the last time.

"Say … me …" she spoke gibberish, but I knew what she was trying to say. "Save …"

I squeezed her hand, suddenly winning the battle against my thirst and realizing that I actually held the life and fate of a young girl in my hands. If I could cry I know I would have. I tried to soothe her pain, release as many calming emotions as possible, but it was not easy.

"I can't," I muttered. I knew that if I tried to save her – the only way she could be saved now – then I would kill her. It was too big of a risk, and then what? I would become another bloodthirsty vampire? All that Carlisle and Esme had worked for and done for me would have gone out the window? But Edward had done it … to save Bella … But he loved Bella. I didn't …

I looked down at her pale face. Yes she was nosy, but there was a spark about her that I connected with. She understood me and vice verse. Edward would have told me if she was attracted to me or not and whether this was dangerous. I of course was not romantically attached to the girl as I was to Alice, but there was definitely a bond I felt. It was impossible to deny and impossible to describe.

"Save …" she didn't finish her words, just let herself go limp and slip into the abyss that was calling her name. Then a thin smile spread across her face, and a strange wave of calm, content emotions radiated off her tiny body. It was confusing.

"She's remembering when she first met you," Edward spoke softly. "She is glad that her last image is of you and that she had tried to be your friend. That is why she is smiling." Edward knew what had to be done.

"The treaty …" I muttered.

"Jacob will honor the treaty. I just called him …"

My one defense against the situation was shattered. I looked up at Edward and down at Corey. Her pulse was so slow, I was sure it had stopped. I let my head hang and as if it were saying 'one more time', her heart sent a miraculous wave of blood through her system. I squeezed my eyes shut, knowing what I had to do, and bit into her wrist. Her scream pierced my ears, but all I could think of was the warm blood sloshing around in my mouth. I drank.

"Jasper! Jasper, stop!" Alice's voice was a distant muffle. Even Edward and Bella's pleas were easy to block out. "You will kill her if you don't stop! Stop!"

I couldn't. It was so sweet, so hard to stop.

"Jasper!" a different voice rang through my ears.

I opened my eyes. Carlisle stood in front of me. I looked down at Corey's face and her eyes sprung open. This shocked me and I let go, letting her hand fall with a thud against her body, and then she slipped into unconsciousness. I scrambled back as Edward grabbed onto my arms, and Alice stood in front of me. Blood dripped down my chin and on to my shirt. Alice's eyes stared at that lone spot on my light blue shirt.

"Alice, go," Carlisle instructed. Snapping out of her trance, Alice looked at Carlisle then back at me and without a word disappeared into the woods. Bella was already gone, afraid of becoming a hungry newborn. "Edward, get Jasper out of here. Burn his shirt."

I didn't fight back as Edward ripped my shirt off and threw it into the flames. He made me wipe my mouth on it so that as much blood as possible was left behind. I stumbled stupidly through the woods as Edward pulled me back to the house. The image of Corey's surprised look haunted my mind and even if I closed my eyes her face was still there. Had I killed her? Was she dead? I was the last image in her dying mind and I had finished her off. Remorse overcame me as the house came into view. We stopped in the middle of the lawn, staring at the back door. The entire family, including Emmett and Rosalie, were waiting anxiously for me.

"Do they think I'm a monster?" I looked at Edward.

"Of course not," Edward said sternly, almost annoyed that I would say such a thing.

"I killed her …" I turned my eyes to the ground.

"I'm not so sure you did," Edward's gaze wandered behind him and soon Carlisle was running past us and as far away from me as possible. Carlisle leaped up to the second story and through the window, Corey's limp body in hand.

"I can't go inside …" I went to the edge of the woods and sat on a rock. "Maybe I should hunt so this thirst will go away."

Edward's gazed went to the family. Alice skipped out and kneeled in front of me. She didn't say anything, just embraced me fiercely. I sat still for a moment, but soon found my arms around her tiny body. Emmett left Rosalie at the door and crouched down, handing me a clean shirt and looking at me curiously.

"Let's say we go hunting, brother," he gave a half smile.

"Yeah," I muttered and stood with Alice still wrapped around my neck.


	11. A shell

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note**: Thank you for the reviews, story alerts, and story favorites! Any author here will tell you that reviews & the like are worth their weight in gold – I like writing for people, and making them happy. If you the reader aren't happy, then I'm usually not either! Anyways, special thanks to those who have suggest stories – I'm still on the hunt for more breath-taking amazingness! Enjoy, review, and share the story with friends! (I've been writing non-stop … there is a lot to come!) :o)

**11. A shell**

_Four days later._

I stayed out of the house as much as possible. Corey's injuries took a long time to stop bleeding and the smell was too much. Carlisle kept constant vigil over her, bleaching the floors and area as much as possible. The rest of the family kept the doors wide open, the cold air blowing freely, and steered clear of the makeshift hospital Carlisle had set up in his office … again. None of us mentioned anything about the last time we had set up shop like this.

"How much longer is she going to stay like this?" I asked Carlisle when he came down the stairs one day – only to get another bottle of bleach.

"I'm not sure …" he shrugged. "This is the longest transformation I've ever seen."

"Are you sure I didn't kill her?" my voice always cracked and became fired up when I thought of my venom killing her instead of healing her body.

"I'm sure," Carlisle put a steady hand on my shoulder. "I'm so proud of what you did, son."

"But –"

"No, you didn't kill her. You resisted."

I walked to the front door and stared out, ready to go for my third run of the day.

"She's awake," Edward's voice was flat as he stood at the top of the stairs. "And she's very thirsty."

I gulped. I knew that feeling. I ascended the stairs, ahead of Carlisle. Tension hung in the air. Esme and Bella were right behind us. When we got to Carlisle's study we saw Corey, a hungry newborn, struggling against the leather straps that held her to the bed. I let the others go ahead of me – for some reason it hurt to see someone that was so human before, now a monster.

"Be strong," Alice smiled warmly at me and kissed my cheek.

"I will try," I responded softly and let her take my hand and guide me into the room.

"What's happening? What is this? Edward, help me!" she called to my brother; her red eyes were a sad replacement of her once bright blue ones.

"There is much we need to talk about, Corey," Carlisle spoke calmly.

"Carlisle, I don't understand!" she yelled and cried the only way we vampires know how to – pitiful remorse gasps of air.

"Maybe there is one who could help you understand," Carlisle looked over at me and I froze. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. "I think it's time you lived up to your end of the bargain. The rest of us will be just outside if you need us." Carlisle shuffled the rest of the family out the door and with one last look at me, he shut the door.

I stared at Corey. Her strawberry blonde hair was shiny and glossy. Yes her blue eyes were gone, but her skin held an ivory glimmer to it as the sun danced off its surface. She was quite remarkable. Of course not like my Alice, but any other guy would stop dead in his tracks after passing her – just like any of my other sisters. I wasn't sure what the correct way to go about this was, so I tried my best.

"Ahem," I cleared my throat, and her eyes instantly opened and glared at me. We stared at each other. A strange mix of emotions emanated from her. I tried the calming effect, and it seemed to work. Her hands unclenched themselves and her jaw loosened. "Corey."

"Jasper …" she gasped and now that her voice was at a reasonable decibel she finally realized the change in her tenor. It wasn't the normal, alto she was used to, rather a musical ring. She tilted her head curiously at me and narrowed her eyes.

"I think we need to talk," I said softly.

She continued to frown. Everything was coming into perspective for her, even the things she couldn't see before – the sun, the cracks in the walls, my scars … Corey sat up slowly and looked around, taking in her surroundings. After a few more minutes of silence she turned to me and said as seriously as possible: "You promised."

"I know," I continued to stand a good distance from the foot of the bed. "I am here to fulfill that promise. Will you listen?"

She nodded. I think it was her way of avoiding that new voice of hers. But just as I was going to speak her head turned towards the door. She frowned.

"Yes, my family is right outside the door," I said softly.

"How is it I can hear them? It's like … like they're right here," she turned back, confused.

"Let me explain. Try to focus on my voice."

_Not too hard to do_, her voice rang clear in my head.

"What?" my voice dropped several octaves and I stared blankly at her. She didn't respond, just looked at me curiously.

_Please just start talking …_

"Okay," I replied obediently. "The reason I had to leave that night was because someone could have gotten hurt." She gave me a look and then I heard her voice again – _And what am I, chopped liver?_ "No, you're not chopped liver, I –"

"You heard that!" her voice rang like a bell through the quiet room and Edward burst through the door. Our eyes shifted to his.

"She's developed an interesting skill, Jasper," he narrowed his eyes, looking directly at Corey. "It seems her ability to communicate in many languages and sense others' thoughts has carried into this life as well …"

"She's telepathic," I said in awe as I looked at Corey, who was completely confused by what was going on.

"Yeah," Edward closed the door and leaned against it. "I'll stay here if you don't mind."

"No," we both said at the same time. I turned to her and resumed my story. "You were also a possible victim that night, even _after_ almost getting yourself run over." I sighed. "We are not normal, Corey. You know this, you witnessed it that night you were wandering stupidly" – _I wasn't being stupid, I was just locked out_ – "It was stupid! Stop interrupting my thoughts, Coraline!"

Both Edward's and Corey's eyes shifted to me. I was losing control, and it wasn't due to thirst this time, rather because I was just as confused as she was and I _needed_ to be in control. Again, I tried to clear my mind and focus on what needed to be said, but as I drew in air I caught her rose smell in the back of my throat and it clouded my mind. It made me think of what I did to her and the cursed life I had just granted her.

"Jasper, continue," Edward's voice was closer; I knew he was standing almost next to me, afraid of _my_ loss of control.

"We are different," I continued with my eyes closed, it helped to not look at her. "My family and I. We are different. We move faster than humans, our senses are heightened, and … we drink blood." Her thoughts were silent. I opened my eyes and stared at her gaping face. "We are vampires, Corey. You asked me to save you, so I did. I saved you the only way you could be saved. I changed you into one of us."

She opened her mouth to say something, but looked away.

"Yes, and um, yes," Edward responded. He looked at me. "She wanted to know if it was indeed vampires that attacked her and also if her terrible thirst was due to her change."

"Ah, yes," I replied hesitantly. "You will be thirsty for a while … and no one can say how long it lasts, but … it does subside … after a while."

_How long?_

"Not sure. Bella had almost total control over her thirst as soon as she woke up, but others like … like myself, still struggle with the smell of blood and being around humans," I said in a terribly low voice, but I knew she could hear me now. "So now you know, Corey. Now you know why I had to leave. If I had lost control with all those _kids_ there that night, it would have been awful. You have to understand, we don't drink human blood. We drink animal blood; it's what gives us our gold-colored eyes … and why those other vampires had red ones.

"Even though we had just gone hunting the day before, I was still thirsty for blood. Nothing is sweeter than _human_ blood, Corey. You have to understand that, and to be around so many beating hearts … it's not _healthy_ for me."

_Then why are there two hearts beating downstairs?_

"Er, that is Edward's daughter and, um, a family friend. His name is Jacob," I explained.

_I don't like my voice._

"I know you don't," I let me eyes drop. "It takes some getting used to … as well as how fast you will move and how acute your senses will be. It will be hard to focus, to block out ambient noise because the world is going to come to life for you. But the greatest thing you need to be constantly aware of is your strength."

_Strength?_

"Remember Emmett?" Edward stepped in.

_Yes._

"Well my wife Bella, maybe two inches taller than you, beat him in an arm wrestling match a few days after she woke up. You're stronger than all of us here. The only one that may be able to handle all your strength alone is … Bella."

_She's … how do you say, new born?_

Edward nodded. Then their silent conversation continued without me included. She was able to direct her thoughts to others, but only to the people she wished. I wondered how many minds she could touch at once and whether she could read ours. Judging by the way Edward responded, just staring placidly at her, she _was_ able to read minds.

"She needs to hunt," Edward said sternly.

"Is it safe?"

"Better than letting her get even more thirsty holed up in this room."

"I suppose so."

Alice danced into the room and stood by Corey's side. "You're going to be a great hunter, I can see it already. You're just going to have to save some for the rest of us, Little One. You are very strong, yes you are, but the boys and Bella are going to have to stay very close to you. I don't foresee any huge danger now, but if we're not careful there will be."

"Any humans hunting in the nearby area?" Edward asked indifferently.

"Not that I can see, but stay as close to our land as possible. Renesmee and Jacob are going to hide in the cottage as we speak so their heartbeats don't excite Corey," Alice turned her face back to Corey. "I'm going to undo your binds, but you have to promise to be good, okay?"

_What could I possibly do? Why is she so worried, Jasper?_

_Because, you may hurt her or the rest of us._

_I won't!_ she pleaded and Alice could see the change in her eyes. _I won't!_

_Just think of that when the urge to thrash out surfaces. It will happen more than you think._

_Okay …_ she looked at Alice who was a little confused by the silence, but Edward stared in awe. She must have told Alice something, obviously catching her off-guard, because she jumped back all the way to my side. After composing herself, Alice undid the leather bindings around Corey's wrists.

We all held our breaths – so to say – and waited to see what Corey would do. Would she leap out the window? Run down the stairs? Try to kill us? Or … my thoughts ceased when she stood very slowly and just stared at herself – her arms, her hands, her feet … and forgetting that there were men in the room, began removing her clothing.

"Um," I averted my eyes and searched for Edward. _Ed, should we –_

"No," he said softly. "We can't leave Alice alone with her."

I knew that if both Edward and I had had pulses, our faces would have been bright red. But we simply turned our backs and listened as pieces of clothing fell to the floor and Corey kept gasping. I didn't want to imagine what was going on behind us, but I could hear Alice's calm voice narrating it all – almost for our benefit so our imaginations wouldn't go too wild.

"Did you have a scar there?" Alice asked softly as the light pink cotton blouse she had pulled over Corey's head hit the floor.

"Yeah," she said softly, "I had open heart surgery when I was little." She chuckled. "Heart murmur …"

Then the sound of jeans sliding down legs was heard. She flicked them to the corner of the room and they landed with a thud. It crashed through the silence as Edward and I held our breaths.

"What are you looking for?" Alice asked inquisitively.

"I had a tattoo on my leg," her voice was almost panicked.

"Yeah, um, that was where they broke it … um, you lost a lot of skin and blood … your tattoo was ripped off during their attack," Alice spoke so diplomatically, so soothingly; it almost calmed _my_ nerves.

"It was special," Corey's voice was hollow. "But I think it was more important when I was … human? I guess so … when I was human because it was apart of my time with my parents. But now … I guess we're all three dead?"

"No, you're alive!" Alice brightened her voice, and I knew her golden eyes were round and beautiful, hopefully showing Corey that she was going to be okay in the long run.

"No, Alice. I'm not alive," and in less than a second she was dressed again. The sound of rushing air told us that the jeans and shirt were back on. "I may be apart of this world, but what I used to be is gone … this is just a shell of what I was."

Edward and I turned to look at her. Edward tilted his head, knowing that the others were listening intently. He looked back at Corey. "If you don't quench your thirst, the emptiness you feel now will only get worse. The best you can do now is feed and then hope your sadness will eventually dull."

"I guess so," she muttered and let Alice guide her out the door and down the stairs.


	12. Teacher

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note**: **THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS!!** I cannot say how much I appreciate the comments. The criticism is also welcomed. At the bottom are a few notes in response to people's questions. **--** A quick reminder – this little part of the story is through Jasper's POV … Wow, I was about to save this in its original format and I just did a complete revamp of the middle section of this part – I know you guys have no idea what it was originally, but let me tell you it was much worse than what it is now. I hope you enjoy.

**12. Teacher**

We hunted, and like Alice said, Corey was magnificent. She wasn't awkward, rather very graceful. She had a sixth sense for it – almost like she could _will_ the animals to do what she wanted. We all watched with extreme fascination as this happened. Even Rosalie was taken back by how easily Corey was taking on her new skin. She killed two deer and a buck while the rest of us just watched.

"I think I'm done for today," Corey said softly as she washed her hands in the stream.

"You were awesome!" Emmett leaped over a pile of rocks and landed next to her.

She fell backwards, obviously startled by his sudden appearance as well as her ability to hear him so well. "Sorry, I, um, thanks …"

"We need to explore this power of yours," Alice danced across the stream and back again, balancing on tiny rocks.

"Power?" she frowned and looked at me. _The part where you can read minds and communicate with others_, I said to her. "Oh … right …"

"It's magnificent. I have powers too! I can sort of see the future. Edward can read people's minds, that's how he was able to answer your questions that night he ran off with you, and Jasper can manipulate the emotions others are feeling in a given radius. And Bella has this mental shield that can protect us if we need it!"

"P-pro-protect you?" she stuttered and her eyes flashed to mine.

"We're not alone in the world, as you found out," I shrugged and perched on a nearby rock. "There are others that would see our family as a threat and want to destroy us."

"Or just destroy our happiness," Bella muttered bitterly – obviously alluding to our encounter with the Volturi the previous summer.

"That's … you're happy?" her eyes lit up and she was instantly inches from Bella's face. Edward instinctually growled and tried to protect his wife, but Bella held her hand up. She was the newest member of the family and could recall her human emotions and the residual human feelings she had when she first changed the best.

"Yes," Bella responded firmly. "I'm _extremely_ happy. I have a family. I have a husband and a baby girl that I love more than anything in the world. And I have brothers and sisters that would _kill_ for me. I'm very happy, Corey."

"I'm not happy, Bella."

"I know you're not."

"I _want_ to be. But I can't, why?"

"I-I don't know," Bella faltered and looked towards Edward for help. But his eyes only turned to me. I shrugged. She continued to speak. "I think you need to take time to process what has happened. I mean life deals us all sorts of strange things in life … and this, um, occurrence just so happened to befall you. Maybe it was destiny?"

"Maybe it was …" Corey muttered and got up in one fluid motion. The sun peaked out from behind the clouds and cast its light on all of us. We shimmered and dazzled in the sun – all of us – me, Alice, Bella, Edward, Rosalie, Emmett and now Corey. "How long has it been since you bit … well, since I, um, became this?" She looked at me.

"Four days."

"What about Jessica?"

"There is a missing person's report out for you. It was broadcasted here, in the neighboring areas and Seattle," I explained. "Bella's father is the chief of police in Forks and we felt obligated to tell him the truth. He knows that you are … _safe_. The missing person's status will stay in effect though. He understands that our circumstances are not normal nor do they follow the rules of the human world."

"What about my aunt?"

"Your aunt has been informed and you will have to decide what is best for her. You can disappear forever, or you can show up for your own funeral," I tried not to sound indifferent, or even blasé about the whole thing, but it was the truth. Her face was horror struck and I could see sadness turning into anger. "She's going to snap in two seconds."

"I've got her –"

"No, Bella!"

"Edward, I'm stronger than all of you and you know it!" she snapped and ran to Corey, holding her arms down. "It's okay, try to pull through it."

"Those – are – my –_options­_?!" she yelled and Bella hung on for dear life. Emmett closed his arms around Corey also as she began to thrash.

"Corey, please, calm down," I ran to her and tried to touch her shoulder, but she snapped and bit my arm. "Ahhh!" I screamed as her teeth sunk into my forearm.

"Corey, stop!" Alice yelled. "Corey, you're hurting Jasper!"

"Either disappear or _die_!" she screamed, her iron teeth released my arm and I stumbled backwards. "How could you even suggest that?! Of all the things in the world –"

"Coraline, it's me, Jasper. Stop! Stop, please!"

"That's it, just disappear and die!" she screeched at the top of her lungs. "Just like my parents! Go into the field one day and never return?! Is that your alternative! My aunt deserves better than that! She _raised_ me! I NEVER CHOSE THIS LIFE! THIS IS NOT WHAT I WANT!"

"COREY STOP!" we were all yelling at this point, even Rosalie, because we knew we were bound to wake up some godforsaken animal or attract negative attention in our direction somehow.

"I NEVER GOT A CHOICE IN LIFE! WHO I LIVED WITH, WHERE I WENT! MY PARENTS WERE _KILLED_ BY VAMPIRES AND NOW I'M _ONE OF THEM_?!"

We stopped. What? I looked over at Edward whose face was contorted into some misshapen form; it was hard to see his handsomeness in the disfigurement. Corey glared at all of us, murderous. She was actually ready to kill us – I could feel her hatred. I just hoped Edward could sort through her mind in rapid time.

"I'm sorry, Corey," Edward spoke very calmly and slowly. "I'm sorry for what has happened to you … and I'm sorry for your parents –"

"YOU DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THEM!" she spat.

"You're right I didn't!" he replied hastily, but in a level voice – something I could never do. "I didn't know them and what we have cursed you with" – that stung, thanks Edward – "is over and done. We can't undo what has already past, but we can look ahead." He paused, unsure of how she was going to react.

"There is no future," she murmured with malice.

"There could be," he continued and I could feel a slight change in her emotions. She was starting to come around to his words, but was scared and was stuck behind a wall. I tried to help her, nudge her out from under her lonely refuge. "You could be apart of our family. You could live with Carlisle, and Esme, Alice, Emmett, Rosalie, me, Bella … and _Jasper_." I knew he had left my name for last. It struck the chord he had hoped for, but she was still a little confused.

"Who?!" she snarled, her emotions still in control of her mind – an unfortunate side effect as a newborn.

"Me …" I stepped closer as I held my arm. Her venom stung. "Me, Corey … You remember me, and Alice, and the rest of my family."

"I …" her eyes darted between all of us at such a rapid pace, it was almost a blur to me.

"Don't you remember us?" I emitted as many calming and soothing feelings as possible – Bella was beginning to relax also, probably not good.

"I don't – Jasper?" she hissed initially, but then stopped on a dime and looked at me. Anger and rage instantly shifted to vulnerability. Her red eyes were scared and helpless. When she spoke, her voice sounded distant, as if someone or something – probably her own fear – was strangling her. "Jasper?"

"Yes, it's me," I tried to act as nice as possible, but it was hard when her bite marks were now permanently in my arm.

"Oh my," she ran towards me, but Bella, Edward and Emmett held her back. "No, no, what did I do? Oh my god …" I stepped closer. Alice's hands rested softly on my back. I extended my arm, the one she bit, to her. Her eyes darted down to the bite marks and she was instantly horrified. "I _did_ this?"

No one responded. No one even breathed, except Corey who was inhaling and exhaling deeply – a human trait she would soon lose.

"Jasper," she looked at me with pleading eyes, and then broke through the three vampires that held her at bay and wrapped her arms around my neck. I was caught off guard as she embraced me. Her body began convulsing as she emitted sounds that could only be construed as sobs. "I'm so sorry …"

I looked down at Alice. She was not happy and I think for once in her life, Alice was jealous. I sighed and let my arms slowly close around Corey's trembling body. If I was the only one who could help, then so be it. Alice would forgive me in time. She cried helplessly in my arms for what seemed like hours, but I knew it was only a few minutes. Slowly I felt her grip loosen, and I set Corey on her feet, but she continued to shrink down into the ground until she was curled in a little ball on the rocks. I looked over at Emmett who sighed, knowing that this was a very familiar scene.

"Corey," I didn't want to touch her for fear of setting her off again, "you need to learn who you are and what you are. We can help. _I_ can help."

"Tell me how to control my anger," she replied softly.

I looked at Bella. "I think there is someone here who can help you with that."

_No,_ she spoke to me through her mind. _I want you to help me._

_Corey, if there is someone better who can –_

_NO!_

I froze and looked at Edward. I knew he was listening.

"Do as she says," he replied grimly and turned to Bella. "Let's go."

"Is Jazz going to be okay?" Bella asked softly.

"Will I?" I turned to Corey. She looked up and nodded.

Rosalie and Emmett followed shortly. Alice of course lingered and I could see confusion in her eyes. She saw what was going to happen, and yet didn't say anything. Why? Then I did something rather uncharacteristic. I took her face into my hands and kissed her. I kissed her long and passionately – just to remind her that my heart was hers to have always and forever. I also tried to calm her as much as possible.

"I'll see you later," she smiled, tapped my nose and ran off into the woods.

I sighed and turned to Corey. She was standing now and staring intently at me. _You are happy with Alice, Jasper._ It wasn't a question; it was statement. I nodded. _I want to be happy._

_I know you do, Corey._

_I don't want to feel angry, but to have only two options seems absurd. Why can't I see my aunt? Why can't I see my friends? They will wonder about me come next semester._

_And they're not wondering about you now?_ I raised an eyebrow.

She sighed. _Answer my questions._

_There are rules, Corey. There are very strict rules we must follow in order to maintain a peaceful life and to live harmoniously in this world. For example we are not allowed to tell any human about our existence. If we do, then we are forced to turn them into one of us._

She didn't answer, just stared down at the ground. She cut off her thoughts from my mind so I was left groping in the dark for her reaction. Finally the tiny red head made a motion and walked over to me. She took my hands in hers and gripped them firmly. A few of my knuckles cracked under her strength, but I let her do what she wanted. Her hands slid slowly up my arms and then moved to my shoulders, around my neck and then stopped at my face. Our eyes met.

_What are you doing?_ I asked, not very comfortable with her actions and proximity, but more afraid of her snapping my neck if I ticked her off.

_Your hands used to feel cold to me. They don't anymore._

_I know._

_You're … warm … Teach me, Jasper._

_Teach you what?_

_How to be happy._

_Corey, I can't teach you –_

_Yes you can. You can teach me how to not think about craving blood. You can teach me how to live with the fact that I may never see my aunt again or my friends. You can teach me how to let my friends go on thinking that I died some horrific death and let Jessica live her life thinking there was something she could have done. If you teach me how to deal with these things then I promise I will be happier._

I sighed and took her hands from my face. I folded them and pressed them into her chest.

"Okay," I said softly. "I will help you as best I can. But will you also listen to the others? You may find that your circumstances may overlap with some of my family members' pasts. Will you do that for _me_ at least? Be open to listening to others as well?"

She hesitated and then nodded slowly.

"Good …"

"Will you tell me what happened to your face?" Corey asked softly.

"It's apart of my past … and coincidentally, it is my first lesson for you," I sat on the rock and waited for Corey to find a comfortable place to sit as I recounted the tale of my transformation and the scars that soon followed it.

* * *

**Responses to questions****:**

1. **JamaicanTwilighterLuna35**: Corey's parents were picked off by vampires because their archeological research, which her parents believed to have been ancient, was actually tracking Hannah's actions & they were discovering too much. So Hannah basically made them collateral damage.

2. **0Life-is-a-Song0**: I think you are the only person in the world to ask me to write longer chapters, haha. I've actually tried to keep them on the shorter side (to no avail mind you) because I know people can get antsy with really long ones. The enthusiasm is tangible, I swear its manifesting itself through my computer screen.

3. **Sorceress Jade**: Yes, I totally agree, bindings would NEVER hold up to a newborn's strength. After reading your comment and the story part again I really did kick myself in the head (figuratively of course). It was a rather poor faux pas – my sincerest apologies!

4. **Numerous people that have requested a Jasper/Corey story:** I will admit I have flirted with the idea, but the whole thing just is too off-based for Twilight Jasper, that I really can't see him with anyone else but Alice … I almost did give in to temptation, though! We'll see what my next story brings … it's all up there and just waiting to get written. ;o)


	13. Crash

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note**: Again, thank you a hundred times over for the reviews. I am indebted to you for your time. I apologize for the delay in updates … I have been completing the story, and I've added a semi-twist at the end of it, but of course earlier chapters had to be tweaked so that it all made sense. Then I realized that this chapter was okay in its original format, so here goes another installment!

**13. Crash**

For six months I taught Corey. Every day was like training day. We talked about her feelings and emotions. She was very good about keeping her anger under control, but nowhere near as good as Bella. Corey's outbursts happened at least three or four times a day for the first month. Try as she might, the idea of leaving her aunt and friends with hollow lies did not sit well with her, and her resistance to anger was not very strong. The other disadvantage we had to surmount was the fact that she was now the monster that had taken her own parents' lives. It was a long complicated web that we sort of talked about but mostly swept under the carpet.

As the second month came around her outbursts were less frequent, but when they did occur we all had to brace ourselves for it because it was like all her pent up energy was bursting through a dam. The sad thing was that after she realized what she was doing and controlled her emotions; she usually went into deep depression. That was almost worse than the outbursts. At least we could talk her through those, but when she became sad it was like talking to a wall. She didn't listen and she didn't offer any of her thoughts – despite her uncanny new power. It took us until the fourth month to really make progress. Her outbursts were down to maybe one a week, but more importantly her depression had begun to dull. We could sometimes talk her out of her sad moods.

Finally, by the sixth month, the outbursts had completely gone away except if we really started talking about her aunt – which obviously we avoided – and though she wandered the hallways of the house in a daze, she was not unreachable. Esme played the matriarchal role so well it made me wonder whether she wasn't really our mother. When everyone else had had it with Corey's moping, Esme would step in and keep her company. When everyone wanted to just throw a heavy object at Corey's head because she was complaining about everyone else's happiness, Esme shooed us away and would change the subject to warm bread baking in the ovens of northern Italy. She was a godsend.

I held true to my word though. I taught her all I could, as well as the rest of the family. Between all of us, Corey began piecing herself back together. She preferred to hunt with Bella and Edward, and constantly asked Rosalie of her past life (I think because, like Rosalie, Corey never got the chance to decide whether life as a vampire was the best thing), but most of her time was spent talking to me. It strained my relationship with Alice, and though she knew that this was all an effort to get Corey better, Alice resented the newest member of our family.

She needed to find a mate. None of us said it, but we knew that if things continued like this for another decade, Alice would snap. I wouldn't be able to handle ten more years of this. I missed my time with Alice, and the happiness that was always spread across her face. But now when I looked at her, all I saw was anger and frustration. She still loved me, but it was starting to get clouded over by her distaste for Corey. I made Edward check over and over again whether Corey loved me or not, and he assured me not romantically.

It was nearing the end of June when the monotony of our lives came to an abrupt halt. Like I said, we were a magnet for humans. This time one landed on our doorstep – literally. Corey was out hunting with Edward, Bella, Jacob and Renesmee. Alice was avoiding me as she usually did lately. Rosalie and Emmett were working on the Jeep in the garage and Carlisle and Esme were reading upstairs. I was wandering through the house, attempting to anticipate Corey's questions as soon as she burst through the door when I heard the doorbell. The sound stopped me dead in my tracks. Of course Edward wasn't here to figure out who it was. Carlisle was down the stairs in an instant.

"Maybe I should get it."

"Yeah," I agreed and disappeared behind the corner of the wall, but stayed close enough to see who it was.

Carlisle opened the door and I heard a familiarly nostalgic voice.

"Hi Dr. Cullen," a nervous voice greeted Carlisle.

"Mike, how pleasant to see you, it has been a while. How are you doing?" it was Mike Newton – graduated with Edward, Bella and Alice. Carlisle of course didn't welcome him inside where he would perhaps become dinner.

"I'm good" – god these humans butchered the English language – "I was um, I was wondering if you had a moment."

"Sure, what can I do for you?" Carlisle was unfortunately stuck between a rock and hard place. There was no way he was letting Mike come inside, but at the same time he couldn't go _outside_ because of all days, the sun decided to come out.

"Well, um, I go to UCLA –"

"Good school," Carlisle said sincerely.

"Yes, thank you. Well, I'm, um" – he sure stuttered a lot. I never remembered him being this tongue-tied before, then again he rarely talked to me – "I'm a pre-med major and I was wondering if I could shadow you some time this summer, maybe get an idea of what it's really like to be a doctor."

"Oh that's wonderful to hear," Carlisle was truly impressed that Mike wanted to be a doctor. "I don't think that will be a problem. Is there a special program your school does?"

"Actually yes. I have the release papers here, and all you have to do is sign them."

"Sure. If you leave them with me, I'll sign them and send the papers in myself."

"Um, I actually have to hand deliver them … by tomorrow. Procrastination is still one of my weaknesses," there was a hint of embarrassment in his voice.

"Ah, I see, so you need these signed _now_," Carlisle casually looked over his shoulder but his eyes connected with mine and he gave me a warning look. "Come in, Mike. Jasper!" Carlisle raised his voice as loudly as a normal human would if calling for his son. But the heightened volume rang in my ears.

"Yeah," I strolled casually into the room, attempting to seem as friendly as possible.

"You remember Mike Newton, right?"

"Of course," I nodded acknowledgment. "How's the outdoors shop going?"

"Oh um," he seemed surprised that I remembered him, "it's good. Thanks." I had to give it to Mike he did look good. When we were in high school he was so baby-faced, so child-like, but a year away from home had actually made him look his age, if not a few years older.

"So where are these papers I have to –"

"Noooo!" Alice ran into the room, horror-struck. We of course didn't care that she completely cut off Carlisle's sentence. What had made her rush in like a bat out of hell? "They're back."

Not good. Carlisle's eyes met mine and I knew Mike could tell right away that something was wrong. It wasn't enough time to get him out of here. I tried talking to Corey via thoughts, but she had closed our mental link – a sort of unfortunate ability she had over her power, unlike Edward. I waited for the hunters to come back, and for Mike to have a heart attack when he saw the supposed dead girl, Coraline Gilbert, and his high school crush, Bella, come sauntering through the backdoor as if nothing was wrong. Alice's yell of course has brought Esme downstairs and Emmett and Rosalie from the garage.

_Please don't let Renesmee and Jacob show up too_, I pleaded silently, still keeping a placid face for Mike. But our serene and perfect image had shattered. He knew something was wrong.

"Mike," Carlisle spoke calmly, yet with urgency.

"Yes?" Mike's hands were visibly shaking.

"How good are you at keeping secrets?"

_Oh I wish Edward were here,_ I thought impatiently.

"W-why?" his eyes were wide with fear. All the vampires in the room heard the backdoor open as everyone but Renesmee and Jacob entered, Mike of course heard nothing.

"Mike?" Bella's beautiful voice rang clear through the silence. Mike jumped sky high.

"Bella!" he fell off the side of his chair – a strange mixture of awe and horror spread across his face. I tried to calm him down, but it all went out the window when his eyes landed on Corey. She stood rooted to the spot, not moving, two steps behind Edward. Her strawberry-blonde hair flowed with the summer breeze, and golden eyes rested on Mike. "C-Corey?"

Her eyes darted to me. _What do I do?_

_I don't know …_

_He'll tell Jessica! He'll tell everyone and this will all go to pieces and –_ It's only now that I realize, looking back on the whole thing that the fact that a living human (aka possible food) sat in our midst and the first thing that came to our minds was not "yum", rather: oh crap, there goes our cover.

_Corey, calm down_, I hurried to her.

Edward looked at us. "Get her out of here. She could kill him." Obviously Edward's head was in the right place.

I nodded and rushed Corey out the back door. All our hard work was going to come crashing down as Mike Newton – lowly, little, human, Mike Newton – sat two feet from us.


	14. Change

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note**: I have completed the story! So updates should be coming more regularly now … I'm just in the final editing stages now, which consists of a lot of reading over! Enjoy!

**14. Change**

_I can't do this! Oh my god –_

_Corey, stop._

We came to realize that even though Corey had the ability to communicate telepathically with people, she didn't like it. After the initial shock of her new voice wore off, we found that she really only used her mental link during times of high stress – ie. when Mike Newton showed up. We had gone into the woods so the house was out of sight. She paced, talking to herself and also sending thoughts my direction.

_I can't stop, Jasper._

_You have to._

_I'm not angry, I'm just –_

She cut herself off, looked at me a moment, and then went on pacing.

_Corey, stop, this doesn't all rest on you. We are all in danger. I don't know what Carlisle is going to do, but he will fix this._

_I know it's not my fault, but what if he tells Jessica. Then that's bad –_

_He won't._

_You don't know that! And then what if she tells my aunt –_

_Corey, please stop …_

She stopped pacing only to find herself almost a foot into the ground. Making a sort of grunting sound, she stepped out of the trench and sat next to me on a big rock. She rested her little head on my shoulder and I sighed, taking in her rose scent. Despite her annoying questions and mood swings, and all the hell she had put me through in six months, I did care deeply for her. There was something about her that connected the two of us. Our minds worked on the same level, and sometimes we knew exactly what the other was thinking without even using telepathy. I think it had a lot to do with our experiences, and how both of us still struggled to maintain composure around humans or if there was the slightest trace of blood.

"Jazz," Alice's voice broke my thoughts. Both of us looked up at her. She hated Corey almost as much as Rosalie had hated Bella when she first came to the family – luckily Corey was unable to conceive a baby or else that drama would have been repeated _some how_, I'm sure. "Carlisle said that we should all talk to Mike. He thinks that it's important he see her."

"Are you sure?" Corey's eyes pleaded against Alice. She knew Alice wasn't her biggest fan, but Corey still idolized her and hung on to every word she said.

"Yeah," Alice nodded, shot a dark look in my direction and ran back to the house.

"Come on," I stood and followed after my soulmate – though we hadn't spent much alone time together or done any 'soulmate stuff' lately.

"Protect Mike from me …" she held on to my hand. I didn't respond. "Please, Jasper?"

I turned sharply on my heel. "You _will not_ harm him, Coraline. You hear? You will not."

She nodded hastily. "Okay … I will not harm him."

When we returned, Mike was sitting on the couch, pale as a ghost, a glass of water in his hands. Bella was the only one sitting next to him, but still a good distance away. I knew she didn't have any problem resisting temptation, but he was scared out of his wits. The tension in the room was almost tangible – I tried to dispel it as much as possible. It worked a little because I saw Bella's shoulders relax a little and Rosalie's hands begin to loosen up.

_How much has been said?_ I asked Edward.

"Not much," he responded softly.

"Mike?" Corey said softly, inching to the other side of the couch so she could look at Mike head on. Mike's face went even paler – if at all possible. "Hi Mike."

"I don't understand," he said gruffly, his voice a deep rumble. Surprisingly, he was holding back tears.

"Well, um, let's start with the basics," her melodic voice carried through the silence. She kept her distance, staying as close to me and Edward as possible. "I am … okay."

"I thought you were _dead_," he shot. "We _all_ thought you were dead!"

_Stay calm, Corey,_ I thought nervously.

_I am,_ she responded.

"Well, um …" she faltered on her words – I knew where she stood with the whole dead and alive thing. To her this was being dead. Until she possibly found happiness, she was dead, just a listless corpse walking around earth. "I'm … _not_ … per se."

"I don't understand," he shook his head, spilling water on the carpet.

"Mike, maybe you should give me that," Bella grabbed the glass faster than she had intended to, and he freaked out. His hands flailed and inevitably touched hers.

"Jesus! You're freezing, Bella!"

"Mike, please, just sit," she tried calming him, but it was useless. This was going downhill fast.

"What are you? What happened to you? You!" he turned to Edward and pointed an accusing finger.

"Stop it," Corey stood in front of Edward in an effort to defend him. All motion stopped, even Bella's eyes went wide. Corey stuttered, but her voice was somehow crystal clear. "Y-you … y-you will _not_ … I won't let you threaten … my family." She spoke in a soft, yet firm voice.

The glass slipped between Mike's hands and shattered as it hit the coffee table. None of us even went for it as it broke. I waited for the sweet smell of blood, but Mike wasn't cut. Thank goodness. The ball was in Corey's court now – she needed to dig herself out of this horrid mess.

"Y-you know th-the Cullens?" Mike stammered.

"Yes," she replied. "They are my family now."

_He's not going to keep this a secret,_ I heard in my head. It was Corey.

"I know," I replied out loud.

_What do we do?_ Corey was apparently relaying her messages to everyone because Rosalie interjected her two cents.

"Lie!" Rosalie shot, eyes wide knowing that we had all considered confessing.

"What are you talking about?" Mike frowned and covered his ears.

"Mike, what do you think is going on here?" Bella stood.

"I don't know, but it's not good … and it certainly can't be legal!"

"Forget legal, what do you honestly think is going on here?" Bella pressed. "Do you _really_ think any of us is being held against our will?"

"Well … no."

"Okay, and do you think that if any of us wanted to leave, we could?"

Pause. He looked at Carlisle and Esme. "Probably."

"This is the same Dr. Cullen that treated me when I broke my leg. He's the same Dr. Cullen that stitched you up the summer after we graduated. Does he seem threatening in any way?"

"No …" Mike muttered.

"So get your papers signed, shadow Dr. Cullen whenever you're supposed to, and just move on. Yes, this is our family now, but what else is different to you?"

She was good; I had to hand it to Bella. But she was definitely a pistol.

"I heard that," Edward said to me, but a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"Just saying," I shrugged.

"I don't understand how Corey fits into all of this. She's been missing for almost six months now and she's been _here_ all this time? Isn't your father the Chief of Police, Bella?"

Ooops. That was going to be an issue.

"It's a long story that we can't get in to. But what Charlie doesn't know won't kill him," Bella lied.

"That's like a crime, Bella! You could go to jail!"

"And are you going to arrest me?" she threatened. Mike dropped his eyes. "Get your papers signed and leave, Mike. Don't come back and don't tell anyone. It's simple."

For a moment I thought Bella had won and Mike was actually going to give in. He looked like he was ready to give Carlisle the papers back, but again, no such luck in our family. Instead, he held them closely to his body and shook his head.

"No," he stuttered. "No, I w-want answers! I can find another doctor to shadow! I've wondered too long and too much about whatever secrets this family has been hiding! I want to know!"

Bella sighed and looked to us. Mike's attention suddenly went to Corey. He frowned, and it was clear by the expression on Corey's face that she was concentrating very hard. No one moved as the silent war went one. Mike's reactions were the only thing that let us known that something was going on. From time to time he would nod and then he would shake his head. Edward's eyes darted between the two for ten minutes straight until the whole ordeal was over. Then, just as easily as he had come, Mike walked out the front door without saying anything, a dazed look on his face, got in his car and drove away.

We all turned to Corey whose eyes were fixed to the spot where Mike was. She didn't move and it seemed like she was in some sort of mental trance. We tried to wake her, but she was stuck for some reason. Then we turned to Edward for answers.

"She … I don't know … she warped his mind," he frowned, as if not comprehending the whole happening himself. "It was very hard to hear her thoughts, and his were only broken pieces that made almost no sense. She was feeding him lie after lie, telling him that he had never seen her, and that this was all a dream. She convinced him that he had to go home, sleep and then come back when he was awake."

"She _convinced_ him …" Rosalie said skeptically.

"Yeah. I don't think we've even begun to see the power her mind has … It's put her in this trance. Obviously she's not physically tired, but that was so mentally draining … I can't even hear her thoughts because I don't think there are any. She has to reboot I guess."

I touched her shoulder and nothing.

"So Mike will be coming back then?" I asked softly.

"Yeah, I think in a few hours … he's going to ask the same things, Carlisle."

"So maybe it's best I respond the same way," Carlisle suggested and Edward nodded.

"Well I guess we can't just let her stay here like this," Alice spoke, which made all our heads turn in surprise. "Let's take her upstairs …"

I didn't say anything, just secretly agreed and let Emmett take Corey upstairs to Edward's room where he placed her on the sofa. She lay staring up at the ceiling, never moving, showing no sign of life. I stood nervously next to her, and I felt Alice's little hand in mine. She wrapped her arms around me and I welcomed her warm body next to mine.

"She'll be okay, Jazz," she said soothingly. "I promise."

I smiled. "I love you."

- - - - -

Edward was right. She took twenty-four hours to reboot. We were all downstairs – the entire family – playing a very intense game of Monopoly when she woke up. It wasn't hard for us to _not_ know she was awake. Just as Emmett was about to roll the dice, her voice rang clear through all our heads and he faltered, his hand slamming into the board, sending everything flying into the air. It rained colored paper money everywhere and Renesmee tried her best to catch it all before it fell to the ground.

_GUYS!_

"Holy … cow," Emmett stopped himself when his eyes rested on Renesmee.

"I don't think _discrete_ is in her vocabulary," Rosalie shot, hastily picking up game pieces. She and Emmett were clearly in the lead, so to have to call the game on account of Corey was not going to sit well with her.

"We should probably see how she is," Alice pulled me to my feet and the two of us walked up to Edward's room.

"Did I miss something?" I frowned, confused.

"What are you talking about?"

"Since when did you like Corey?"

"Ah …" she trailed off. "Let's say things are going to change."

"Really? Care to enlighten?" I paused outside of Edward's door.

"You'll see in time, silly," she smiled and busted through the door. "Corey, how are you feeling?"

_What happened with Mike?_ She asked us.

"Um, we're not sure," Alice said softly. "We were hoping you could tell us."

_I can't remember. I … I really can't remember. Did I kill him?_

"What would make you think that?" I frowned.

_I know I was in his head … and it just … I can't remember, but it was like I was literally scrambling his memories … That doesn't make much sense does it?_

"You're apart of the largest vampire coven besides to Volturi … anything makes sense," Alice joked. This new outlook on Corey was going to take some getting used to, but I was happy to see that she wasn't as resentful to my friend. "Do you think you need to hunt?"

_We just did yesterday … but strangely, yes._

"Well, I'll go tell Edward and Bella!" she danced down the stairs.

I met Corey's confused look. I shrugged. "I'm not sure what's going on, but she's at least nicer."

_I didn't kill Mike, right._

"Right."

_Okay … that's a relief …_ and without another word she got up and bounded out the window. If Alice and Corey suddenly became best friends it was going to be the death of me if and when they decided to combine forces against me.

- - - - -

"Where's Corey," I asked aimlessly the next morning.

"Out," Emmett said as he flipped through the television channels.

"Out." I repeated in disbelief.

"It's true," Alice danced into the room. "She left about two hours ago and hasn't been back yet."

"Where'd she go?" I tried not to sound too disappointed, but after six months of constant Corey watching, it was a little strange to not have the Little One (as we had come to call her) attached to my side.

Alice just giggled and flittered away. That didn't sit well with me so I followed her into the kitchen where she was arranging flowers. I leaned in the doorframe and stared intently at her. She knew I was there, but was just choosing to ignore me until she came up with a good lie or explanation (probably a lie) that would save her.

"I told you," Alice smiled, but her expression wasn't as warm as her tone, "Things are going to change."


	15. Relapse

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note**: So I added a poll to my profile because I find myself torn over Corey's fate. I ask that you take a moment to visit my profile and vote in my poll. It's a simple 'what should I do with Corey' question. I've honestly never been so indecisive over the outcome of a story before – which is why I am asking the opinion of the people. I have both endings written … and I thought I had my decision fixed, but I can't come to a good conclusion. I need your help! Thanks in advance, and enjoy!

**15. Relapse**

Corey didn't return to the house until evening, around 6:30. She seemed out of it and was certainly not focusing on where she was going because as soon as she walked into the house she went right up the stairs and into Rosalie's room. There was some yelling and then she situated herself in Edward's. Edward, Bella, Renesmee and Jacob were out at the moment, but the rest of us looked at one another like Corey's water had been poisoned – so to say. We found her sitting on the floor surrounded by CD cases. Her emotions were too complicated to read at the moment – a weird mix of satisfaction, confusion, sadness, and curiosity.

"Corey?" Esme stepped forward and glided over to her. "Corey is something wrong?"

She didn't respond, which was highly unusual. Corey loved Esme – actually she loved everyone in the family and would have immediately responded with enthusiasm. This was definitely strange.

"Corey are you looking for something?" Esme continued to pry as she watched Corey's hungry eyes scan Edward's CD collection at rapid speed. Finally she must have seen what she wanted because in less than a second she chose something, there were some clicking noises, and then music was playing. "Oh, Pachelbel's Cannon in D Major. How, um, interesting …"

I looked over at Alice who simply smiled and enjoyed the bizarre display.

"What happened to her?" I looked down at Alice.

"Can't you see?" she giggled. "She totally has a crush!"

All movement in the room stopped except for Corey who was sitting on the floor, rocking back and forth, eyes closed, and humming to the song. Even with immortality she was a bad singer. Of course our initial reactions were the same – who in the family did she like? The obvious answer was me, but there was no way Alice would be that cheery over something like that. Then it dawned on me – the only other outsider we had had contact with in the past day.

"Mike Newton," I said softly. Alice just giggled in reply.

"That's not good," Emmett said softly. "Someone needs to try talk sense into her."

"Edward," I muttered softly.

"No," Rosalie cut in. "_I _will speak with her. She needs to hear it straight up, no bull crap. Edward's life turned out perfectly after he fell in love with his human, that's all she needs, is to chase a pipe dream that we barely survived this past summer. This is not good and I will not have my life implicated _again_!"

Nodding agreement, the family left the room. If there was anything Rosalie did without flaw, besides being beautiful, it was giving you a piece of her mind. I stayed in the room just in case Corey snapped – I knew Rosalie was not going to hold back. She didn't resent her as much as she had Bella, but Corey was still a pain in her side.

"Okay Little One, listen up!" Rosalie shut off the music and stood in front of Corey, towering over her. For one moment I almost felt bad for little Coraline.

"You shut off my music, Rosalie," she pouted like a two-year-old. This was not Corey behavior.

"Yeah, I shut it off because you're going to listen and listen good! This, this _crush_ you've developed, it has to end! It has to stop! Humans and vampires were not made to live together. That is why we stay _here_ and they stay in _Forks_! Mike Newton is _not_ someone you are allowed to like! Do you hear me? Corey?"

Corey's eyes turned to me. She was thoroughly dejected. Great.

_Jasper?_

"It's true," I shrugged. I wasn't going to keep Rosalie out of the loop anymore than she needed to be.

_But … but I felt alive when he was in the room._

"You're going to have to find another way to feel, um, alive."

_That's not fair. You have Alice._

"And in time you will find someone –"

_NO!_ She stood and I could see the rage in her eyes. Rosalie braced herself for an attack. I did regret having to destroy Edward's nice room, but if it was necessary. _I have been patient and I have been a good vampire! I have tried to be as happy as possible, but it's hard when even the __baby__ has a soulmate!_

Ah, yes, that stung. I guess I would be a little put-off also if I was ousted by Renesmee.

_I want to be happy Jasper … and I've concluded this is the only way I will be happy._

"No, Corey, you can be happy and _not_ like a human," I said and turned to Rosalie who was so frustrated with Corey's child-like mentality.

"Yeah, fall in love with a vampire!" Rosalie snarled.

"And who do you suppose is going to take their place beside me, Rose?" she said mournfully, her voice sounding even more melodic. "Emmett?" Rosalie hissed at that, knowing that Corey's point was getting across. "Edward? _Who_?!" she shrieked.

"But you can't be with him! He's a human!" Rosalie snapped back.

"Then I'll make him immortal!"

My eyes went wide as Rosalie looked at me.

"You can't," she said softly, yet in a calm tone.

"And why not?"

"It's … it's part of the treaty …"

"But you changed me!" Corey's eyes turned to me now.

"Yeah, but … we can't keep asking Jacob to make exceptions. And besides, who said that Mike would even want to spend the rest of eternity with you?" I blurted out the last part so quickly it took a second to register. That was dumb.

Her eyes went wide and I could see that fine line between control and wildness blur. Wrong move, Jasper. She snapped and before I knew it, her hands were at my throat and we were sliding across the hallway floor. We had completely broken through Edward's door, and with all her strength, Corey was trying to kill me.

"Carlisle!" Rosalie yelled and was trying to pry the tiny girl off me, but she was still a newborn and very strong.

"Corey, stop," I coughed as she put her hand over my throat box. Obviously I didn't need air, but the ability to speak would be nice. _Corey stop … please._

_I see happiness only comes to those privileged enough to earn it –_

_Corey, you're talking nonsense –_

_- and I'm obviously not privileged …_

_- Corey, I apologize, please don't …_ "Ahhhh!" I screamed as she bit my arm … again.

"Corey, stop this!" Carlisle yelled as Esme freaked out.

Finally she was off me, but only after Emmett, Rosalie and Carlisle had her wrapped in their arms, and in a complete death grip. I just lay on the floor, unable to move. Her venom stung, more than when she had first woken up and attacked me. My eyes scanned around me, and I heard the three of them take her downstairs.

"Jasper? Jasper come on, sit up," Alice was leaning over me.

Laying the floor, it gave me a new perspective. I'm not sure what it was, but something about her attack opened my eyes. I didn't move, even after Alice tried to lift me. I resisted and continued to lay perfectly still on my back in the middle of the hallway. Esme bent over me and though they talked to me, I ignored them.

"Why can't she?" I finally asked after twenty minutes of just lying on the floor.

"What?" Alice snapped.

"Why can she have Mike?"

"Have you gone mad? He's a human!"

"But Edward and Bella –"

"That was a situation we were lucky to get away with. I think our luck has run out with the Volturi," Alice said solemnly and Esme nodded. "Besides, you were right, who's to say he wants to spend the rest of eternity with her?"

I frowned. "Do you really think that he's not going to want her?" The question was meant to be innocent and prove a point but it just drove a stake through Alice's heart and I could see she saw a double meaning in it. "Alice, that's not what I meant –"

"You can tell me if you don't love me anymore, Jasper."

"No," I did sit up now, "obviously I don't not love you. The question was more rhetorical. I mean admit it, we're beautiful people. Mike Newton is only human. He's going to love her back. It's just the way things are …"

"But we can't have another vampire running around here," Alice said softly.

I turned to her. She was right about that. Our home was getting crowded and it was only a matter of time before we had to move. How long could Carlisle pass for his age? How long could we hide from the truth? I looked down at my arm – it was a nasty bite, but it was starting to heal itself. I knew I shouldn't have said that to her, but it was the truth.

"The truth she wasn't ready to hear," I muttered, realizing I was picking up Corey's habit of answering the thoughts that ran through my head.

"But the truth nonetheless," Alice curled up on my lap and I hugged her.

"Maybe we should just let her choose whomever she wishes," my mind wandered back to Corey's little relapse.

"Maybe …" Alice replied listlessly as she rubbed her hands around my newest scar.


	16. Pink polka dots

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note**: Thanks for the poll participation … I think it was really to see how many people were going to string me up and kill me when I finally get to the end of this! I've got another like 5 stories brewing in my mind right now … a potential Carlisle one in the making, woo! Anyways – enjoy, and as always, reviews/criticism always welcome (as well as suggestions to other stories).

**16. Pink polka dots**

It took us over an hour to calm her down. And even then we were all on edge. I didn't dare go near her. Forty minutes after the incident, the rest of them returned and Edward raided his room for every possible CD with calming classical music and just played them over and over. It seemed to work. As long as she was in her own personal bubble, she was happy. And that was all we had strength for right now – keep the newborn as happy as possible.

"This is ridiculous," Rosalie sighed as we all deliberated downstairs.

"What else can we do?" Emmett shrugged. "We tried. She likes a human. I mean, it happens."

"Yeah, but Bella was different!" she yelled.

"How?" Edward asked softly as he descended the stairs in one fluid motion.

"What?" I frowned. Edward and I usually didn't butt heads but this was starting to get on my nerves. We had to come up with a unanimous decision as a family or else we would be divided forever – I could feel it.

"How is it any different?" he asked again in that same blasé tone that only Edward could do.

"She's a newborn … you were searching your entire life for someone. There's a difference," Rosalie pressed her point.

"It just took me a little longer to find the love of my life," he shrugged and sat next to Bella who clutched Renesmee close to her chest. "What if Corey has found the love her life? Are you going to deny her that happiness, Rosalie?"

Her eyes flickered to Emmett and she shut up.

"Jasper thinks we should just let her be with whomever she chooses," Alice said softly. "I'm not so sure I disagree …"

"I definitely don't disagree," Bella said with confidence and Edward muttered an agreement.

"It's dangerous, but I can't deny anyone happiness either," Carlisle spoke diplomatically, and we knew there wasn't even a point in asking Esme, she would agree with Carlisle. But nonetheless, she spoke her agreement as well.

"So what, she falls in love and we change _another_ human of Forks into a vampire? How does that sit with _you_ Jacob?" she pointed at the dark skinned boy.

Jacob sighed and looked at Renesmee. He placed a hand on her soft cheek. "I know what the treaty says and I know the stipulations you are under. I also know what it feels like to find someone you cannot live without." Renesmee wiggled her way out of Bella's arms and into Jacob's lap. "I would not hold it over any of your heads or call the treaty off if it ended up that Mike Newton had to become one of you. I can't say the same for the rest of the pack, but this binds them no matter what. We don't choose who we love. It just happens. I've come to learn this … literally through experience."

"You're joking me," Rosalie hissed. "I can't believe it! This family is too big! The Volturi are sure to come and just start picking us off one by one. I guarantee that they have a spy watching us as we speak. And you think a talented young vampire like Coraline _isn't_ going to go unnoticed by Aro? If she joined, she would be one of the most powerful members of the guard! We can't live our lives in fear, Carlisle! Isn't this why we decided to become _'vegetarians'_?! We don't have the guilt and taste of human blood weighing us down, so we can be as normal as possible! I don't know if I can stay here if she is allowed to love that Newton boy –!"

"Rosalie!" Esme's eyes went wide with horror.

"So what is the family's choice?" Rosalie's voice broke through the tension, and almost as if she were trying to block out Rosalie's yelling, Corey turned up the volume so that Tchaikovsky's waltz from Sleeping Beauty blasted through the house.

"I cannot pass judgment," Edward said softly. "Nor can I make anyone turn their heart a direction it does not wish to turn."

"Likewise," Bella spoke.

The others nodded: Jacob, Renesmee (even though I'm not sure if her vote would have counted even if she had voted 'no'), Carlisle, Esme, Alice, and me … Emmett would never vote against Rosalie. No matter how much he was against her decision, he loved her too much and would never leave her side. None of us spoke as Rosalie stormed out the front door, with Emmett close behind her. We didn't make an effort to stop her either when we heard the BMS convertible roar to life.

"She'll be okay … for now," Alice said softly and then walked away.

I sighed and went upstairs only to find Corey humming to Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.

"Rather a solemn song," I commented from the doorway of Edward's room. We had removed the battered door completely.

"It suits my mood," she said softly.

"I thought you were happy."

"I am … deep under my sadness," her golden eyes looked up at me mournfully.

I was getting tired of her riddles and games. I just wished for straight answers. I pinched the bridge of my nose in an effort to control my frustration with her. In many ways her inability to properly socialize as a human had translated to her second life. I also hypothesized that was the reason behind her many mental capabilities. What she lacked physically, she had to make up mentally.

"And why are you sad now, Coraline?" she knew I only used her full name when I wanted a straight-up answer, no BS.

No answer. _Just count to three, Jazz …_ I thought to myself. _1 –_ the music shut off – _2_ – I heard tiny feet skitter across the floor – _3 …_ I opened my eyes to see Corey standing on the ledge of Edward's window. What the hell now?

"I'm sad because I'm leaving," she said softly, but there was definitely a hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth.

"You're what?" I frowned, not grasping her words.

"Leaving," she smiled this time. "I can't hurt your family any longer … and I think you've taught me all you could … so I'm leaving now … Goodbye Jasper. I love you. You're my best friend." She was speaking so fluently, so clearly, yet the words were hard to stomach. It was like they were covered in barbed wire and were getting lodged in my throat. I couldn't even swallow the lump in my throat while thinking of her leaving.

"You think we won't find you as you hide out behind Mike Newton's house?" my voice cracked.

"No, you'll know where I am … but you won't come near me," she continued to smile confidently.

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because … if we fight, then the Newtons are sure to hear and that wouldn't be good if the girl that went missing six months ago and one of the Cullen boys fall out of a tree because they were wrestling …"

I opened my mouth to speak, but I knew she was right. Edward would be able to read her mind, but that was about all the contact we could manage without her going berserk. _Could we still talk?_ I asked in my mind. She nodded and stepped off the ledge, disappearing into the darkness.

I never really took notice of what everyone wore except Alice, but for some reason I noticed Corey's outfit that day. It was pretty. She was in a light pink polka dotted sundress. It had spaghetti straps that tied together. It was stretchy across the top and it had what Alice had once called an "umpire waist" … maybe it was empire … and the rest of the dress fluffed out a little. Her little feet were covered with silver shoes that looked like ballet slippers – Alice again had told me that was in style.

I sighed as I stared at the empty space where Corey once stood. Not really thinking of what I was doing, I turned the music back on and went downstairs. Alice knew what had happened, but for some reason hadn't told anyone. She was also keeping her thoughts carefully guarded from Edward, which I had never mastered, but reciting all the names of the men from my infantry during the Civil War seemed to block him out enough. Alice just took my hand and the two of us walked out the backdoor together.


	17. Carlisle's secret

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note**: So there's a going to be a small flurry of updates because I'm going away this weekend and won't be home until Monday … I like to update about every two days, but I'm going to cram a few updates in a row here. I just have to make sure I don't leave something really hanging or else people will have my head. Brace yourself for impact! Woo! (PS. Thank you a thousand times over for the reviews and feedback! … Also, if you couldn't tell, the story switched back POV's to Corey's. How Breaking Dawn of me. ;oP

_**Three: Coraline**_

**17. Carlisle's secret**

I sat in Edward's perfect room. I put Tchaikovsky on just because it was something to listen to and it would make them think I was feeling better. That was a ruse. I was feeling better the moment my awful attack mode had worn off. I rubbed my tongue over my teeth; I could still taste Jasper's skin in my mouth. I felt very guilty for that. Sitting there, I heard Rosalie yelling at everyone to make a decision about my future. Was that what my life had come to?

"God I hope not," I muttered to myself, my musical voice still a slight shock to me.

"_So what is the family's choice?"_ I heard Rosalie's voice clear as a bell. I couldn't listen to her arguments for all the reason why I should leave any longer, so I turned up the volume on Edward's stereo. It didn't block them out completely, but it helped. I hummed the beautiful melody to myself and closed my eyes, trying to imagine a happy life with Mike Newton.

When I had met him he was still a boy, but seeing him after a full year of college, asking Carlisle to help him with his medical career … there was something that had woken me up and my heart was suddenly filled with warmth. I knew that whatever the decision was, there would be division and I couldn't let myself tear the family apart any longer. I made my decision to leave before I even heard Jasper's feet bounding up the stairs.

"Rather a solemn song," I heard from the doorframe. I knew Jasper was standing there.

"It suits my mood," I said as I continued to stare at Edward's impressive electronics.

"I thought you were happy."

"I am … deep under my sadness," I finally turned my head towards him. Even after six months of living with him, I wasn't used to all the scars on his beautiful face. No matter what anyone said to me, Jasper would always be the most beautiful vampire of the Cullen family.

"And why are you sad now, Coraline?" he asked, exacerbated, his fingers on the bridge of his nose. I listened to his mind. He was counting to three to calm himself.

I got up, shut off the music, and walked to the edge of the window where the warm summer night called my name. He looked up at me, confused.

"I'm sad because I'm leaving," I tried to not smile as I thought of my newfound freedom.

"You're what?"

I explained that I was leaving and he of course guessed I would be at Mike' house. I countered that with an easy defense – something about vampires rolling around the backyard would not sit well with the humans.

_Could we still talk?_ He asked me sadly. That did hurt, but I nodded and turned, the pink polka dot dress that Alice had given me, rustling slightly as I landed lithely on the soft ground. The ballet slippers made a dull thud, and I didn't even look back as night engulfed me. I ran without abandon to Forks to find Mike Newton.

Something about the wind in my face and knowing that I wasn't harming the Cullens any longer – both physically or emotionally – felt like a ton of bricks was lifted off my shoulders. I was free. I was no longer their burden. I could be me and not have to worry about causing anymore friction in the family. That brought a smile to my face, but my mood instantly went down a few notches as I realized that despite being free to pursue whomever I desired, was it going to be enough? And how was I going to keep this mortal being in my life? I certainly did not want to change him … but to implicate him in such a way as this … well I could just watch him from the trees for now.

"Yeah," I said to myself. "Just for now …" And that's what I did for the first night. And the second night. And the third night. I sat in a tree, hiding amongst the shadows, and watched as Mike hung out with his family and friends. The fourth night he and his friends were having an early summer barbeque, taking advantage of the lack of rain.

I swung my legs carelessly as I bounced on a sturdy, high-up branch. I watched as he and his friends went in the hot tub in the backyard. I also found, to my great surprise, that I had a clear view of his bedroom window. The thought of being a stalker didn't cross my mind until I watched him just sit at his computer, chatting aimlessly on line. At that point I chuckled to myself, realizing that I was longing for a human life that I would never get back, but at the same time trying to will another soul into my meager existence. That night his window was wide open and his conversation floated to my ears.

"… Yeah, we could go to hiking tomorrow … oh crap, yeah, I forgot that you had that. Well we can go next week. Yeah, let's plan for that. Sounds good. Hey, have you talked to Jessica lately?" – Jessica Stanley? – "Yeah, how's she doing? Oh really, not good. Maybe we should stop by and just watch a movie with her or … oh, I didn't realize … is she on more anti-depressants? Oh …"

He got up and shut the window, which was probably better because then I couldn't hear the awful news about Jessica. I couldn't be sure if she would feel guilty or not, but that conversation had obviously confirmed it. But maybe it wasn't about me. Maybe it was about something that happened at school or … or …

"Or a death in the family," I said softly. I got up and jumped from branch to branch, and then ran off to Jessica's house. The lights were on, and I climbed up a tree that overlooked her bedroom window. She seemed okay, lying in bed, writing in a journal. "Hm …" I muttered to myself.

The next day I waited for her to get up and leave the house, it was a Monday after all, but then I forgot they were on summer break. The sun crept out around 10am, but luckily hid behind the clouds the rest of the day. Jessica just slept. She barely moved. Not until 1:30 did she actually get up, and even still I'm not sure I would constitute her movements as "getting up". She sat up, went out of the room for about twenty minutes, swallowed something that looked like pills from an orange bottle, and then climbed back into bed – her hands clutching the journal.

The next day her mom took her out. "We'll only be a few hours. It will do you good to go to Port Angeles," her mom had chirped with false happiness. It was perfect. As soon as they were gone I moved as stealthily from the tree to the front of house where the spare key sat. I hoped I was working fast enough. Once inside the house, I let my guard down.

It was different than the last time I had been there. It was like an indelible fog had covered the house. I went upstairs to her room and found the journal resting on her nightstand. After making careful note of how it was placed, I picked it up and began reading.

_June 20_

_It has been over six months since I let Corey die._

"NO!" I yelled at the top of my lungs and dropped the journal. It crashed to the floor. My hands trembled as I went to pick it up. Something willed me to read more.

_I still can't believe I didn't stay with her on the mountain. It's not my fault they say, but it is. I waited in the car for almost an hour ... I was too lazy to get her. I could have stopped the monsters that did this. I killed Coraline Gilbert. Gary transferred schools because he can't stand the thought of me. He told me I disgust him._

_I disgust myself._

I flipped back to the beginning of the journal, but she had written almost every day the same stupid stuff. I rifled through drawers, searching for the journal that contained information days after my disappearance. Then a horrid thought came to my mind, had she tried to kill herself, and I turned to the first page of the same journal that held the June 20th entry.

_Please don't be true,_ I thought to myself.

I read the first page and almost lost control of my rage.

_April 12_

_Dr. Michaels said I should start keeping a journal. Here goes._

_About four and half months ago one of my good friends – _oh, that stung me – _Coraline Gilbert disappeared from Forks. She was examining the dig site of Dr. Preston. We had done research there as a group during the first semester of school. I told her I was cold and she insisted I stay in the car. Like a selfish person, I went to the warm car and stayed, expecting her in twenty minutes or so. She didn't show for a half hour, and I started to worry, but then I remembered that there was a cave that she was interested in. Forty-five minutes later I really started to panic and I called her, but it automatically went to voicemail – _because the one vampire had crushed it with his fingers – _so I assumed it was off. Then I heard something that sounded like a scream._

_I got out, and had to turn down the music significantly, but I couldn't hear anything. Then I heard a scream that could only be a girl's. I dialed 9-1-1, but didn't move. I don't know why I didn't move, but I couldn't! I was so scared. My feet wouldn't move. When the cops finally showed up they ran down the mountain, protecting me, and driving swiftly away. Everyone was talking so loudly, and quickly. They were saying something about an abduction and blood and a fire. I couldn't understand._

_It wasn't until later I learned that she had been captured by some sadistic people. There was a fire with human remains burning in it. They said they found her backpack and the only thing missing from it was the lighter. I knew then, even though no one would admit it, it was all my fault. If I had been with her – _no Jess! –_ or if I had called earlier, I would have been able to help. But I killed her._

_Dr. Michaels said I should write about this because it will help channel my thoughts and even if I write the same thing over and over, it will help me vent._

_A month after Corey's death I tried killing myself –_

"Oh Jess …" I looked up and felt my insides dying. I kept reading.

_It didn't hurt as much as I had thought it would, but it took me a long time to regain use of my hands again … I had cut pretty deep … Dr. Cullen said I was lucky to survive –_

"Carlisle!" I roared, slamming the book down on the side table harder than I had intended because it shattered into splinters. I didn't care. I stormed out her window and ran as fast as I could back to the Cullens' house. Status of my first attempt at leaving forever: FAIL – it wasn't even a complete week away; six days!

Alice must have seen me coming because they were all waiting for me when I ran up the front lawn (except Rosalie and Emmett). Carlisle stood in front, awaiting my anger.


	18. A home to return to

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note**: I know it's short and there are some here that aren't big fans of short chapters (oh you'll regret those comments later on … there's a monster of a chapter yet to come), but that's all I have time to post right now … I think I've settled into my decision for the ending … it's fun to see that people voted on the poll. FFAMasquerade2005: I think you're a mind reader … well, you'll see what I mean when you read the chapter (this is in reference to the last review!). ENJOY!

**18. A home to return to**

"Coraline," he said soothingly.

"No, you can't talk your way out of this, Carlisle! How could you do this to me?" I started to cry the only way I knew how to. "H-how could you hide that from me?"

"Would it have made anything better?" he frowned.

"I w-would have known! I h-had a r-right t-t-to know!" I stuttered so badly that my hands were shaking and I was curled at Carlisle's feet in the middle of the lawn. "I had a right to know … She was my friend …"

"It is a decision I do partially regret," he knelt down and put his hands on my arms, "but only partially. If I had told you about this just a month after your transformation … can you even imagine the damage you would have done? You would have killed us all probably. I don't think you would have been able to handle it back then. I did it to protect you, Coraline … please, can you understand that from … from a _father's_ point of view?"

I looked up at him, still convulsing, but confused.

_A father's? _I inquired.

_No matter how short your time in our family … you are still like a daughter to me, Coraline._ Carlisle's thoughts were crystal clear. There was something about the way he said my name that no one could ever repeat – he said it so _endearingly_.

_But I almost killed her …_

_No. This was not your fault. And the same thing I am telling you now, I had to tell Jessica. The only different is that you were able to move on because you had the whole truth. Jessica is only left with broken fragments and partial truths. I don't think it would even be good for you to let yourself be discovered so they could hold a funeral. I think you need to forget about her. I would not normally say this because one broken life for another is not the solution … but to try to amend things would not go over well. It would hurt Jessica even more … Don't try to contact her, and don't meddle with her life. She is getting better, despite what I'm sure you saw. She will get over this in time and will learn to forget you. It's for the best._

_I thought I could be strong on my own._ My eyes dropped in shame.

_I know Little One … and you can if you want. But know that these doors are always open to you._

I looked up and nodded, then I wrapped my arms around Carlisle's neck in a tight embrace and didn't let go. I couldn't. He had just taken the place of the father I could barely remember. I had shed my old life for a new one filled with a mother – Esme – and a father – Carlisle – that loved me, as well as siblings. I continued to cry, holding on to Carlisle, even after he stood and carried me back into the house. Esme sat next to us on the couch, rubbing my back and saying soothing things. The rest of the family stayed away – my life was too much drama for them, and I didn't blame them. If I were them, I would want to kill me too. I would have celebrated the news when I heard that I had left.

_So I guess they're going to be mad that I'm back again …_ I said with a half smile to Esme once I had calmed down.

"No," she pushed my hair out of my face, "Jasper never told the others, only me and Carlisle. They just figured you were camping out at Mike Newton's."

"Which was partially true."

Carlisle laughed. "Yeah, but only partially …"

"You're like another daughter to us, Corey," Esme put her arm around me and hugged me tightly. "We love you. We don't want you to go, but we also know, like all parents, we have to let our children run free when they feel its necessary. You can run if you want, but wherever we are, you are welcome."

"Thank you, Esme," I said sincerely and my head turned as Jasper descended the stairs.

"I think you two have some talking to do," Esme said and she and Carlisle waltzed out of the room.

We looked at each other for a full minute. Then he walked down and took a seat next to me. I punched him squarely in the arm and he groaned as he rubbed the spot. "Best friends forever, Jazz," I smiled.

"Ouch," he couldn't help but smile back. "Promise?"

"I'm sorry to leave."

"Yeah, if you call that _leaving_ –"

"Stop!" I laughed, trying to stay serious. I punched him in the arm again. "Seriously, I won't leave again like that. I'll at least give you a few hours warning."

"A few hours, that's rich," he laughed out loud as I started wrestling him.

"Ugh, you're so annoying …" I got up. "I really need to change … this dress is –"

"Just _dying_ to be thrown out!" Alice interrupted me and smiled. "C'mon, let's get you some new clothes. I just bought some stuff that I know you'll love and fit in to. I've always wanted a sister that's my same size!"

"When you're done let's go hunting," Jasper said in a very serious tone.

I paused and looked at him. I didn't hunt with Jasper; it was just an unspoken thing. I don't know why, but it was something I didn't like to do. Hunting was the lone activity I did with Bell and Edward and only them. I wasn't sure why I was so particular about the company I kept while I dined, but I figured it had something to do with the fact that it was Jasper's teeth that had sunk into my skin. And it was _my_ teeth that had slashed his skin in the past.

"Okay," I said softly. "I'll try …"


	19. Perfect

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note**: Okay so I'm back to my regular chapter length … I know the last was really short, but it kind of wrapped up a loose end so it didn't need too much explanation. We will be going on an adventure soon, so hold tight, there are still a handful of chapters left! Enjoy!

**19. Perfect**

_Edward's on the other side of the house_, Jasper said hastily to me as I came running back from the woods.

_Where's Bella?_

_Not sure … Alice wouldn't give up the location. She said we didn't have enough "money"._

_Fine, I'm going to go find Carlisle._

We were playing a family game of capture the flag. It was a week after my not-so grand return. The tension had subsided and we were back to enjoying each other's company. Rosalie and Emmett had disappeared for an indefinite time, though Alice kept good watch on them, and said they were heading north to Canada. It looked like they were headed to the Denali clan. The explanation of the Cullens' relationship with them and the history, everything leading up to last summer, had been a long talk.

It was so long that we felt like we needed to stretch our legs in some way. It wasn't thundering so baseball was out of the question, but capture the flag was always a good second choice. We had split up into two teams: me, Jasper, and Carlisle on one team; Edward, Bella and Esme on another. Alice wasn't on any team, but could be bribed with "money" – shiny objects that were hidden all over the course – and she would lead us closer and closer to the other team's flag. Jacob and Renesmee just watched in amusement as we ran like blurred images around the yard.

_Hey, Little One, truce?_

_I don't think so, Edward._

_C'mon, we've been playing this for four hours!_

_If you want to surrender just so you and Bella can go have –_

_Okay, fine no truce. But I was only calling one because I know where your flag is hidden._

_That's a lie._

_I'm running towards the garage –_

_No!! Jasper, he's going to the garage!_ I quietly giggled to myself as I danced into the woods and to the cottage. I grabbed the flag dangling from one of the shutters, and flitted back to the yard. Our flag was nowhere near the garage.

"Tag," I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I turned to see Edward's awfully crooked smile. He was holding a silk scarf – our flag, as I was two steps shy of hitting the 'safe zone'. "Looks like we won, fair and square, Little One."

"Rematch later, Cullen," I scowled.

"Deal," he smiled and I could only chuckle as I ran to the house, looking over my shoulder at a grinning Edward.

I liked it when we played games or did something as a family because it kept my mind off other things – off things that were sort of a crux in our household – such as Mike Newton. I visited him every night when everyone else turned in with their respective soul mates, and I was left to what, sit and watch television? I couldn't contain my jealousy and that's something I refused to do – be jealous of the ones that had welcomed into their home – so I tormented myself other ways. I chased after the next best thing.

"Headed over to Mike's?" Jasper asked casually.

"While you go spend alone time with your soulmate?" I eyed him carefully, "I would say that's a resounding 'yes' on my part, Jazz." The nickname was slowly working its way into my vernacular.

"Please be careful."

"He's a human, what can he do to me that you guys can't do ten fold?"

"You know what I mean, Corey," he said, irritated.

"Okay, okay, I'll be fine. Stop being so annoying," I rolled my eyes and ran off to Forks, not even bothering to look back.

I sat on my normal branch, watching him through his bedroom window. It always made me wonder how pitiful my life was, but then I remembered that I was actually pretty content with the way life was going. I mean I couldn't actually touch the object of my affection, but in some strange way, I was okay with that.

He was a pretty predictable person, as are most humans. He had a nightly routine that consisted of talking on line with [real life] friends, lifted free weights in his room (explained his physical transformation), talked some more on line, read a little, and then went to bed. But tonight, after his free weights, he put on a t-shirt, gym shorts and then ran out his back door. I followed him curiously with my eyes as he ran into the woods.

_Not smart, Mike,_ I scolded him silently and kept following him from above, jumping silently from tree to tree.

"Hey Mike, finally," another boy said. There were a lot of them – ten including Mike.

They handed him some gear, he put on camo pants and jacket, and then he put night vision goggles on. I squinted to see guns in their hands and realized they were going to play paintball at night. I rolled my eyes. Such a boy thing. But it would be fun with the family – though I wasn't sure if Esme would like being shot at. I directed my attention down again.

"Yeah it's 5 v 5. The boundaries are separated by markings on the trees; the course hasn't really changed since last summer. We play until the amo is gone. Any questions?" one of the boys, I assume the leader of this asinine group of boys, spoke militantly.

_No Sir!_ I thought sarcastically.

They all muttered a collective 'no' and the game began. It was actually entertaining to watch. I of course followed Mike everywhere. At one point I had to follow him on foot, but it wasn't too hard, I just had to make sure none of the other guys saw me. At one point they did and a few shot at me, but I simply laughed to myself and ran up a tree. They were thoroughly confused by that, but really, were they going to figure out it was a vampire girl ruining their game?

Mike stopped running for a moment and I could hear his breathing very heavy. I jumped to a lower branch to see if he was okay. He sat down on a log and put his hands on his knees and leaned forward. _Oh my god,_ I thought and put my hand over my mouth, _he's having an asthma attack!_

"Mike, dude, what's wrong?" one kid walked over.

"Can't … breathe …" he tried to calm himself, but I could hear by the strain in his voice that he wasn't winning the battle against his closing throat.

"Where's your inhaler?"

_Yeah where is it, dummy?_ I frowned, a sudden wave of protectiveness washed over me.

"It fell … out … of," he heaved a great sigh, "my pocket."

"Where? Why didn't you say anything before, man?"

"I just … just realized …" he was getting worse.

"Okay, we're going to find it," the kid whipped out a cell phone and he was calling all his buddies. Soon the entire game stopped and they were all looking for the inhaler. "Mike, do you want me to stay here or look?"

"Look … I … will be … okay," he forced a smile and it broke my heart.

I turned on my heel and started retracing all of his steps, following his scent. It was very distinct in my nose – spearmint, cool and refreshing. It was a strange mixture of his hair gel and aftershave. My eyes scanned the ground, not seeing anything. I was almost back to the starting point, and by the time I got back it would be too late. Then I remembered the brief time I ran beside him on the ground. I leapt to the forest floor and turned my head, following the cool minty smell. Then my foot kicked something plastic. I got down on all 4's and found the inhaler – sort of muddy, but still his inhaler.

I climbed back into the trees and ran to Mike where he sat, or rather slumped over, on a log. None of his friends were around. What did I do? Risk it all? Obviously I couldn't let him die. I could just drop it and run away, but that would be weird. However, I would remain anonymous and then nothing weird would happen … but this was my chance to see him … I dropped to the ground.

"Mike," I said as sweetly as possible.

"Huh?" he was barely conscious.

"I found it, here, take your medicine," I crouched in front of him and put the plastic bottle in his hand. He barely gripped it. "C'mon, Mike, breathe!" I shook the inhaler and put it to his mouth, pressing it down, hopefully some of the medicine would go in. I did it again, over and over. Suddenly his wheezes became a little more pronounced and air sounded like it was passing more easily. "That's it …" I didn't even realize I had laid him across my lap and was holding him up like a mother feeing a baby.

Mike's baby blues stared at me, only a few inches from my face. I knew if I had had a heart, it would have exploded from panic at this point. He was weightless under my arms, though I was significantly smaller than him. He frowned, and looked like he was going to say something, but I forced the inhaler into his mouth and pressed down. This seemed to help. I wasn't sure what the correct dosage for inhalers was, but I figured overdosing and breathing was better than not getting any air at all.

"I … know … you …" he said softly, obviously tired from his attack, but definitely going to live.

"Do you?" I asked softly, knowing my melodic voice was going to affect his already blurred judgment.

"I'm dreaming …"

I smiled. "Yes, Mike … you are …"

"You … died …"

The last one stung and I turned my head away, even though I knew I didn't have any tears to splash on his face. I placed the inhaler in his hand and he flinched at my frigid hands. I put them on his flush face and his neck.

"Am I dead?" he frowned.

"No," I smiled and leaned closely to him. I drew in a deep breath, taking in his sweet, refreshing scent, "you're dreaming."

"This is a really … good dream," he smiled.

"Yes," I leaned even closer to him, "it is."

"C-Corey …" he frowned.

"Even in your dreams you remember my name," I smiled, but voices brought me back down to earth. Damn. I turned back to Mike and caressed his cheek. "You're going to be okay now. You found the inhaler on the ground here … you're going to wake up and this will all be over."

"But you … found … it …"

"No, Mike," I said sternly and set him gently on the ground, allowing the log to support his back so he could sit up, "_you_ found the inhaler … please … tell them that."

"Why?"

"Because this is a dream." Their voices were getting dangerously close. "Goodbye Mike." I leaned over and impulsively kissed him. At first he flinched under my cold lips, but after a moment he kissed me back. He opened his mouth to breathe, and I caught his scent too strong in my mouth. I jumped backwards and stared at him – now I knew what Edward was talking about when he had explained how hard it was to be with a human. "Remember … you found the inhaler … not me … I'm dead …" I turned and ran into the darkness, only to circle back high up in the treetops to see what Mike would say.

To my surprise he said nothing, just stared into space stupidly. But he was breathing and that's all that mattered. His friends were good to him and carried him back to his house where they proceeded to wake up his parents, and they rushed him to the hospital. I called home to see if Carlisle had been summoned to the hospital, Edward was surprised for all of two seconds, because I heard Carlisle say something about going in for an emergency in the background.

"What did you do?" he asked flatly.

"Nothing … Mike had an asthma attack in the woods …" I said softly. He didn't answer. "Fine, you'll get the whole story from my mind anyways!" I proceeded to confess my actions to him as quickly as possible, my voice just a low buzz as I ran to the hospital. When I got there I saw Mike's family car and I smiled. Maybe Corey would get her happy ending after all. It had been a perfect night.


	20. A dream still

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note**: Enjoy. We are in the final countdown till the end of the story! Eeep!

**20. A dream still**

"Do you know how dangerous that was?" Edward sat me down as soon as I returned the following morning.

"Yeah," I shrugged nonchalantly.

"You could have killed him!"

"I know."

"How the _hell_ can you be so calm about this?!" he roared and was inches from my face.

"Because … like you had… I refuse to kill the source of my happiness," I replied calmly.

"You need to be more careful," he gritted his teeth and stormed off.

"Wait, Edward," I held him back. It was strange actually touching Edward's arm – he was the one brother I had never truly made physical contact with … probably because we had such a strong mental link. "This … this burning inside my chest … will it go away?"

He didn't respond at first. "Depends … how deep does your desire run?"

"If you love the person enough can you leave them in order to save them?" I asked softly and he instantly tensed. Another story I didn't know about.

"Not if they love you back," he replied and ghosted out the door.

I turned and went to Mike's house. He was lying in bed and looked really weak. His mom kept coming in, bringing him mugs and bowls. I assumed it was something along the lines of tea and soup – despite the summer whether. I sighed and watched him. So human. So alive. I put my fingers on my radial artery … silence. Yeah, that still scared me. I stayed until it was night and all the lights in his house were out. Then the idea of visiting overcame me. Well if I could keep convincing him we were meeting in his dreams …

"That's silly," I chuckled.

"What is?"

"Edward!" I fell off the branch but his hand caught me and he lifted me back up.

"What's silly? Your mind is rather jumbled right now," he pressed.

"I want to be next to him again," I looked to Mike's window.

"That's dangerous," he said casually, not in a warning way.

"Can I convince him he's in a dream?"

"I don't know … with your mental capabilities … it could be possible …"

"But that last time left me a little … dazed," I muttered.

"How badly do you want to be next to him?" Edward whispered in my ear. I wasn't sure why he was so close and talking so low. No one was going to hear us.

"Badly enough," I replied in the same soft tone.

"Then go," he pushed me off the branch and I landed in Mike's yard.

_What the hell!_ I frowned and looked up at him, but he was gone. I sighed and ran to Mike's house. I jumped up on to the overhang that rested under his window. I rested my head on the sill and watched as he slept peacefully. I pushed the screen up and slipped in the window. Straining my ears I heard two heartbeats in the room down the hall – his parents. That was it.

I turned to Mike and perched myself on his dresser. For at least an hour I calmed myself, not letting myself get too excited or possibly lose control. I gradually inched closer to him and smiled as he snored softly. His spearmint smell was very strong, and I realized that it was not only his hair gel and aftershave that contributed to this delicious smell, but also the little spearmint plant that lived in the corner of his room. I chuckled, and at the break in the silence, Mike's eyes fluttered open.

"Hi Mike," I said sweetly.

"Oh my god," he instantly shot up and banged his head against the wall.

"Shhh," I smiled and put my hands up. "You're dreaming, silly."

"N-no I'm not. See," he pinched himself – rather hard in my opinion, "I'm not!"

"No, Mike," I stared into his blue eyes and concentrated on convincing him that he was in a dream, "you _are_ …"

It was almost like hypnotizing someone, but after ten minutes or so it worked. He relaxed and sat in his bed, just staring at me. I sat next to him, and took his hand in mine. He flinched again under my cold touch.

"I know, my hands are cold."

"Why?"

"Part of the whole dream … apparently dream Corey is cursed with awfully cold hands."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be," I smiled, "I get to be with you. This is a good dream."

"But I'm dreaming about … about a dead girl," he said almost with disgust.

I sighed. "I can leave if you wish."

"No, you're perfect," he replied in awe.

"What?" I squeaked and looked into his eyes, and searched his mind for any lie, but human minds were actually harder to navigate for me than vampires. I could understand only broken fragments of his mind – maybe it was because I had spent most of my time with this power around vampires.

"You're p-perfect," he repeated.

"No," I smiled, "being here is perfect …"

I leaned my head against his chest and closed my eyes, listening to his heartbeat. It was a strangely soothing sound. Now I understood what Edward was talking about when he mentioned his fascination with Bella's warm body – her heartbeat, her cheeks flushing – though Mike hadn't blushed yet – and just the normal things we vampires missed from our past lives.

"Mike, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

He didn't reply at first. After a long pause he finally spoke. "No."

"What happened?"

"She wasn't always good to me," he replied flatly and he reached up on to a shelf over his bed head and grabbed an overturned frame. He handed it to me.

"Jessica?" I frowned.

"We were together until fall break our first semester. She was hooking up with other guys … she practically told me. And it wasn't hard to see it when you came and visited with your study group that weekend."

"But you were so friendly –"

"A front we put on for our friends here in Forks," he shrugged. "It's a small town, Corey, we need to be careful of what feathers we ruffle. We pretended to have mutually broken up, and moved on … but it wasn't easy. When I saw you that night, though, wow. I thought that Gary guy was a lucky one."

I dropped my eyes and handed Mike the frame. "Did you try to help her after I died?"

"Well I felt guilty for just abandoning her after that semester … and when … she …" he choked up. "Well, something happened and I tried to make a better effort to see her. But she won't see anyone, not even her good friend Lauren from high school. She's on so many meds I don't even feel like I'm talking to her if I go over there."

"I'm sorry, Mike," I pushed his disheveled hair behind his ear. "I'll try to be here for you."

"But I can't become obsessed with a dead girl," he chuckled.

"This is a pretty vivid dream, Mike," I said sternly.

"Yeah I guess so … but a dream still."

"Yeah, a dream still …" I muttered and stayed with him until he fell back asleep. I kissed his forehead and put the picture back where it was. "Sleep soundly …" I slipped out the window, pulling the screen back down and ran back home.


	21. Almost truth

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note**: I know people have griped about the chapter length! I'm sorry! Ahh! I will warn you, there will come a period of shorter chapters … so brace yourselves now! As always, thank you to all those who are reading and still signing up for updates. I appreciate it! I hope this one lives up to expectations … it was actually one of the harder ones to write – and had to undergo emergency re-write just now. Enjoy!

**21. Almost truth**

_One month later._

It was nearing the end of July. We still hadn't heard from Rosalie and Emmett, but Alice assured us that they were fine, hiking through wild America. She felt confident that their time away would be ending soon and they would return. As much as they enjoyed time on their own, they still missed the Cullen clan. Every night I went to Mike's house and _almost_ every night I visited Mike – I felt like making him believe he was dreaming _every_ night would be excessive.

"This is a dream, right?" Mike asked one day as we lay in his bed.

"Yep."

"Well in a dream you can do anything you want, right?"

"What do you have in mind," I frowned, hoping my tone didn't show my concern.

"Can I kiss you?"

"Oh, um, Mike, didn't we try that in your very first dream when you were playing paintball? That didn't work out too well –"

"I thought it was great," he leaned on his elbow and looked down at me.

"Um," I tried to find a way to wiggle out of this one.

I replayed my conversation with Edward: _"If you love the person enough can you leave them in order to save them?"_ I had asked him. _"Not if they love you back,"_ he had responded. I looked up at Mike. Maybe this was a test to see if he loved me … even as dream Corey.

"One kiss," I said softly.

I probably should have asked Edward how he had kissed Bella for the first time because I'm sure it had something to do with him in total control of the situation. I mean not that I couldn't throw his body off me in an instant; I just wish he had moved in a lot slower than he had. I felt his warm lips on mine, just softly resting there – for a moment – and then his hands were pulling my face closer to him. I wanted to stop, but couldn't. I was drawn to this whole new feeling of actually being intimately connected to someone. It was like a drug almost. This had to stop before something bad happened … But it tasted so good, my senses were more alive than they had been in a while …

_We should stop …_

"Why?" Mike pulled away. Oh he had heard that. I had convinced him so well that he was dreaming, so to hear voices in his head was not too bizarre apparently.

"Because I don't want you to be disappointed when I'm not here in the morning," I said softly. "I've been feeling things I've never felt before and am enjoying my time with you, but how selfish can I be coming here night after night and leaving you alone in the morning?"

"But … no, you're the best dreams I've had in so long," he leaned in to kiss me again, but the sound of footsteps echoing down the hall stopped me.

"Shit," I muttered.

"What?" he hadn't heard them.

"I'm sorry, Mike, it wasn't supposed to be like this …" I got up and slipped my sandals on again. "Usually you're asleep again when I have to do this, but now I have no choice. Goodbye."

"Wait, Corey!"

"Don't raise your voice," I winced, but the turning knob of his door distracted me and I slipped out the window, not even closing the screen. I hid on his roof, listening to the conversation that was going to unfold.

"Mike, who the hell were you talking to?" it was his mother.

"What? No one, I'm dreaming … you're in my dream too?"

"Are you crazy?! This isn't a dream. Why are you so cold on this side of your face? Are you sick? Mike what's wrong?"

"I … she was … this is a dream!"

"No, it's not, and … was someone here?" she went to the open screen and I shook my head, resting it in my hand. He didn't respond, oh good job Mike. "Why is your window open? Mike are you sneaking a girl in here?"

_Mike, lie!_ I yelled.

"What?" he replied out loud.

_Mike, it's Corey, lie! Tell her you were fixing the screen, I don't know, anything to get her to leave!_

"I was, er, fixing the screen," he said softly.

"Is it broken?"

"No, mom, just, um, stuck. It's fine. Just … sorry, I was having a dream. Why are you here?"

"You were talking pretty loudly in your sleep. I was going to the bathroom and I heard you talking to somebody."

"Well is there anyone here?" he shot. _Good, Mike, now ask her to leave …_ "Mom, please, just go back to bed. I'm fine."

"Okay," she gave in reluctantly. "Good night sweetheart."

"Night mom," he grumbled. I heard the door shut and he was instantly at the window, sticking his head dangerously out the window. "Corey!" he called quietly.

_Yes?_ I didn't want to jump down and scare him.

"Am I dreaming still? What the hell is going on?" he hissed.

_Okay … I will … just settle down. I'll explain … some of this …_

I sighed and thought about Edward. I knew this was the exact mentality the family had feared, but it was the only one that I could keep in my mind: If it worked for Edward, then it could work for me. But of course he had had the perfect human to fall in love with – Mike still had his weaknesses … On the contrary, what human _didn't_ have any weakness? I jumped down and landed on the overhang, causing Mike to fall backwards, but I caught his arm. He hung at an awkward 45º angle. I pulled him back and helped him on to the overhang. We sat on the paneled roof.

His face was placid, almost scared. He spoke in a small, shaky voice. "Corey, what's going on, am I dreaming still?"

I paused a long time.

"No," I said softly and looked into his eyes. Time for the … _almost_ truth. "You were never dreaming Mike … this is real …"

"What." His voice was flat, shocked – I could feel the edge of betrayal in his tone slice through my heart.

I looked over and even though the moon was casting pale moonlight on our faces, he was stark white. I looked over the edge, well, if he jumped he would probably only break his leg. And then I would make Carlisle drop the book he was reading … again … only this time to fix Mike's leg. I looked over at him, his blue eyes showing signs of pure terror.

"I don't understand …" he said barely above a whisper.

"It's a lot of handle," I said softly. "I'm not … dead per se, Mike. But nor am I living. I – just – _am_."

"Y-you were dead … there w-was blood on the mountain!" he started yelling, his voice fueled by anger, and this I couldn't deal with. I put my hand over his mouth.

I spoke with haste in one long hiss. "Mike, you're going to have to trust me when I say, yes, I almost died, but I was saved. I know I've been on the missing person's list for seven months now, but I'm okay. What has happened in the wake of my disappearance is not something I planned or wished for … I was saved in a very unconventional way," I paused and faltered when I saw tears welling in his eyes. I leaned in closer and whispered as gently as possible. "What you feel right now, here, is real. My hand on your mouth is real. Every night that I've been with you was real. My _feelings_ are real … and I know this changes your image of me, but perhaps in time you can come to return those feelings … I'm going to let go now, but you can't scream. You will wake your parents. Okay?"

He nodded. I removed my hand. Mike scrambled away from me, teetering dangerously close to the edge of the room.

"So what are you then?" he asked softly, his muscles tense, eyes alert.

"That I won't tell you," I smiled.

"Why not?" pure shock resonated through his words and he forgot – for a moment – that he was supposed to be on his guard, afraid, and ready to defend himself.

"Because then I would have to kill you," I said in a joking tone, but little did he know how true that was. I continued in a light-hearted tone that was slowly working its way through Mike's head. "I want you the way you are Mike, beating heart and all. I would never change that for anything."

"Why me?" he challenged, his eyes narrowing in confusion and anger.

I looked at him sideways. "Because you have a good heart that beats strong and true … and I can read your mind. You were once a kid, and you acted quite childishly when I first came to Forks … but you've changed … and I can see that this change is for the better …"

"This is absurd," Mike shook his head as if trying to wake up from a bad dream and then covered his face with his hands. "All this talk about … being dead and not … one moment I'm dreaming, the next I'm not … I can't deal with this shift in reality. I still can't believe this is possible!

"I'm a pre-med major! What I'm taught to believe is concrete. What I see is what is real and until prove otherwise, it's all just a myth. And now I have in front of me this … this I don't even know what you are. I have this _girl_ sitting here and you claim to be dead but not. I see the proof but …" he bit his lower lip. "I just can't believe."

He sighed and looked out across the lawn. I continued to stare at him, but I didn't pry into his mind – it wasn't something I liked to do, and I knew, from Edward's own experiences, that if he had a shut off valve for his power he would use it.

"Don't let your head get in the way of what you can feel is real," I inched closer to him. At first he retracted, but then slowly scooted closer to me. We met halfway – Mike sitting with legs bent and arms resting on his knees and me on all fours like a cat staring curiously at a piece of string.

"So what now?" he asked softly. "Do I just accept that this is truth? You are real and you coming to see me has been real? All of this is … God I can't even say that word anymore …"

"I will do whatever you want me to do, Mike," I moved within an inch of his face and he almost fell backwards. "I want to make this work. I want to see if we can do this. If this is too much I understand but –"

"Why would you come back to me?" Mike frowned.

"Why wouldn't I?" I retorted.

Mike sighed and leaned his head against the siding of the house. I watched as the wheels in his mind turned – there was a long and tormented thought process going on inside his head. For at least twenty minutes I just watched as he pondered scenario after scenario. Each one crazier than the one before but each one ending with the same thing: Us. Finally he spoke. "So you would do … _anything_?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Within reasonable limits," I said hastily.

"Ah," a little twinkle in his eye forced a smile to my lips. Somewhere he inside himself, Mike had decided to cash in his persistence of absolute truth and logic, and bargain for a more illogical and fantastical life, "so showing me how you get into my room is out of the question?"

I chuckled. "No, that is quite simple." I got up in one fluid motion and skipped off the edge of the ledge.

"Corey!" Mike leaned over.

"Shhh!" I giggled from the ground, and then jumped up on to the overhang. "You'll wake your parents!"

"That's so cool."

"And anyone can get through your screen, no offense, Mike. You really should guard it a little better."

He paused and then looked down embarrassed. I wasn't sure what was going through his mind, it was surprisingly hard to decipher. Between his emotions of fear and emotions of elation, he was as easy to decipher as ancient Greek. His words eventually came out in slow, broken bursts.

"Well … what if … what if I want you to return?"

I looked at him curiously. "You _want_ me to come back?"

He smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I think so."

"What happened to the whole part where I used to be dead, but now am I alive, sort of, and have been stalking you for the past month? That doesn't creep you out?"

"I mean it _does_ … But believe me, I've met people that would give you a good run for your money."

"Try me," I smiled.

"Well the Cullens … you know the ones that almost ran you over that one night."

I contained my laughter with as much grace as possible, but really I had to pretend to have a sneezing fit. Oh the family would find that hysterical. I sat next to Mike and sighed.

"You do know, though, our meetings must remain secret, right?"

"Of course," he said defensively. "Besides they would lock me up in a psych ward if I told them the truth."

"This is true … people would rather turn a blind eye than accept what is really there."

"So when will you leave?"

"Before the sun rises," I leaned my head against his warm shoulder, I felt him shiver, but I couldn't bring myself to pull away. He rested his cheek on mine and his warm breath trickled across my face. We sat there until I saw dawn breaking on the horizon. "I have to go now."

"Why?"

"Because today the sun is actually rising, and as a rule, I don't do sun," I smiled and stood, pulling him up as well.

"Will I ever have all the answers?"

"Certainly not in one night," I helped him into his window.

"So some day I will know everything?"

"Perhaps …" I said softly and stepped to the edge of the roof. "But that day is not today, and you have to get some sleep. Your mom is already up and making coffee."

"How did you …" he trailed off.

I just winked at him and ran off into the woods, slowly enough so he could actually see me. I wasn't ready to stun him with super speed just yet.


	22. A daughter's plea

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note**: Yes, I know it's very short … I apologize, but I couldn't overdo it!

**22. A daughter's plea**

"You smell like him … like … spearmint," Jasper wrinkled his nose as I waltzed through the house. The sun was rising fast and the entire house glittered.

"I'll take it as a compliment," I smiled.

"How's Mike?"

I sighed, debating whether I should tell him or not. I knew I would have to confess to Edward, but Jasper was another thing. I looked at him curiously.

"I kissed him. Well, actually he kissed me, but I didn't stop so I guess –"

"I get the picture," he put his hand up.

"I like him a lot Jasper."

"I know you do … but please try to be careful," he picked up a medicine ball that was sitting aimlessly on the ground. I think Renesmee was playing catch with Jacob.

"I confessed to him –"

"What!" Jasper lost control and burst the medicine ball. Little foam balls flew in the air and showered the room. I tried to stifle a laugh, as we _were_ talking about something serious, but it was hard. I picked the foam out of his hair, but he stepped back. "You did _what_?!"

"Shhh," I took the popped ball from his hands. "I confessed … _some things_ …"

"Like what?" Edward stood in the doorway.

I sighed and hopped effortlessly on to the back of the couch. I recounted our night together; unfortunately divulging every detail because I knew Edward would pick my brain sooner than later. I explained everything and scanned through enough images to satisfy their curiosity.

"This is dangerous, Corey," Edward grumbled.

"And your affair with Bella wasn't any less?!" I hissed.

He sighed. I could hold Bella over his head as much as I wanted because he knew whatever I said would probably be true. Yes, Bella was a much stronger person than Mike, but that was why I refrained from telling Mike anything. I never divulged my association with the Cullens, and for all Mike knew, I was living on my own in the woods.

"I'm just saying," Edward said softly, "that he is involved now. Whether he has all the information or not, he will very soon … Keeping secrets from the humans is not as easy as it seems. Mike may have been a mindless twit" – I shot him a dirty look – "sorry, it's the truth though. But he _is_ smart. He will figure out that we are associated in some way …"

"I won't leave him," I hopped off the couch and stood two inches from Edward's face.

"And he won't leave you," Bella's voice rang through the tension. We all turned to see her standing in the backdoor. "Mike is a good person … he won't leave you. He's almost as stubborn as I am …" She cracked a smile and ghosted to Edward's side. "Of course _not as_ but stubborn nonetheless. He's not going to just up and leave you, Corey."

"How do I protect him?" I looked at Bella.

"You can't," she shrugged. "The forces of the supernatural world catch up with us eventually and he will be sucked into this world. He will be forced to make a choice. If the Volturi find out about him and he knows about _us_, then we have a much bigger issue …"

I heard movement behind me and turned to see Esme and Carlisle watching their children talk this out. I wondered what this looked like through their eyes. What did they see when they saw me, Bella, Edward and Jasper talking about our futures and the people involved. Were they proud of us? Or were they ashamed of me especially because I was so selfish I refused to give up Mike, forcing Rosalie and Emmett to vanish?

_No, they're not ashamed of you_, Edward's voice echoed in my head and I turned to him. A secret smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he wrapped an arm around Bella. _Rosalie has a hard time with change … She likes things the way they used to be. She wishes I had found another vampire to love, not Bella who got herself turned into one. She envies your relationship with Jasper. You are closer to him than anyone else in the family besides Alice … and even then there is an indelible line that Alice can't cross. Rosalie will return to us in time … don't worry … Alice has seen it._

I stared at Edward for a long time. Nothing ran through my head – no thoughts, no images, no desires. The rest of them knew there was a secret exchange of words occurring between the two of us; they had seen it happen enough times. When it was over I turned to Esme and Carlisle and stepped towards them. The words that escaped from my lips were not in the normal musical tone my voice now took – they were soft and timid, pleading if you will.

"This isn't what you would want – "

"Corey," Esme tried to cut me off but I stopped her.

"Wait, let me finish … This isn't what you would want me to do, but I'm going to anyways. I have a question for you concerning Mike, and I want you to answer truthfully. I trust your judgment and wisdom. You are like parents to me; you know this. And so this is _me_ asking _you_, from a daughter to her parents …" I looked into their eyes, both of them tense and not sure what was going to be asked of them. I spoke in a barely audible (even for us) whisper. "If it turns out he's the one … can I keep him?"


	23. Family

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note**: My fascination with writing also branches out to how many different ways words can be interpreted. I didn't have the intention of making people laugh; I think because I could hear the tone in my head, but I love that many different people can read a story many different ways. In any event, I am glad that you guys found definite enjoyment in the last one – if you found hilarity in the last chapter, I'm sorry, I continued on my more sullen mindset here at the beginning of the chapter, but I think the emotions of the story remain rather straightforward from here on out! Enjoy! :o)

**23. Family**

The tension in the air hung like a thick fog in the room. Alice, Jacob and Renesmee had all crept into the living room by this point and anxiously awaited Esme and Carlisle's response. I could see the struggle across their faces. No one was expecting a question like this. But they also weren't sure if I would listen to them if their answer went against what I desired. But I would. I would listen to whatever they said because they were wiser and knew better.

They looked at each other and Carlisle whispered something very softly and quickly into Esme's ear. She smiled and nodded. Esme walked over to me, her feet barely touching the ground, her movements so perfect. She smiled and took my face into her hands. Her lips gently rested on my forehead and she held my face up so that all I could see were her golden eyes, which were beginning to change to their blackened state.

"Coraline," she said softly, "you can love and keep whomever you deem worthy to have in your life. It is not up to us to decide whether you have made the right choice or not. We understand the danger, but we also know the danger of denying one of our children the love of their life. If he turns out to be the one and you try to run from this, it will come back to you. Follow your gut … what _feels_ right to you? Whatever you decide to do is acceptable in our eyes … We will support you in whatever you do because you have our trust. If it is Mike you choose, then Mike it is."

I stared at her in disbelief. I couldn't move I was too stunned. Her words were like poetry, so smooth and eloquent. She was indeed the perfect mom. I hugged her tightly and breathed in her sweet smell and she squeezed me back. It was at this point in my life that I realized the deep impact of not having a mother while growing up – how socially retarded and broken it had left me.

"Thank you," I squeezed her again and smiled at Carlisle.

"Since we're all in such a family mood," Alice chirped brightly, but with a sly grin on her face, "who's up for a little baseball?" She held a bleach white ball with bright red lacing in her hand.

"We haven't done this in a long time," Carlisle chuckled.

"Let's do it," Jasper smiled.

- - - - -

"Batter up!" I yelled from the catcher's position. Alice was pitching; Edward, Jacob and Bella were in the outfield. Renesmee was the umpire and Carlisle, Esme and Jasper were at bat. "C'mon Alice!" I cheered as Jasper stepped up to the plate.

"I wouldn't be so confident, Little One," Jasper chided.

"What if I messed with your mind as she pitched?" I taunted him as I crouched down.

"That's cheating, Corey!" Edward called from the outfield.

"Just saying!" I laughed.

The beautiful sun that gave way this morning had turned to rain clouds in just a matter of hours. We were playing in a light drizzle while Forks was rained down upon. The thunder was booming, but not as loud as the sound of the bat striking the ball when Jasper slammed Alice's first pitch into the woods. Edward was off in an instant, running at top speed.

"C'mon Edward!" I called, and soon the baseball was whizzing towards me. I caught it just half a second before Jasper slid into home.

"Safe!" Renesmee called in her high soprano voice.

"Lucky duck," I muttered and pretended to kick him.

"Play nice you two," Carlisle said in a joking tone as he stepped up to the plate.

We continued until the three batters had scored five runs, and then we switched it up. Bella was catcher while me, Edward and Jacob batted. It went on like this for a while. Jacob unfortunately was the easiest to get out. Even running at top speed he was just a little slower than all of us in his human form. But he was a really good pitcher. We played until it was way past Renesmee's dinner time, but she didn't care. All of us being outside and enjoying each other's company was a treat we rarely enjoyed.

"I was _so_ safe on that one run," Jasper pushed me over.

"I don't think so," I rammed into him, subsequently sending him into the back of Alice.

"Hey!" she laughed and pushed him back.

"It's just pick on Jasper day!" he rolled his eyes as I caught up.

"No, every day is pick on Jasper day … we're just making sure you get a good dose today," I winked. I turned and abruptly halted two inches from Alice's back. Alice was standing still, not moving, not breathing, and staring into space. I froze, what was happening?

_She's seeing something_, Edward consoled my mind.

_Like what?_

_You really need to exercise your power to its fullest extent,_ Edward responded, almost harshly. I think he saw the hurt on my face, because he sighed – mentally – and spoke in a softer tone. _Look for yourself._

I gritted my teeth and then turned my eyes to Alice. It helped me to close my eyes.

Rosalie and Emmett were running at top speed through foreign woods. I couldn't tell where it was; I wasn't a very worldly traveler. But I could tell they were in danger. It was almost like they were being hunted. Then they entered a dense city … As they ran into the throngs of people I gasped as I saw a sign that read: "Lincoln Tunnel."

When her vision was done, I opened my eyes and turned, completely aghast, towards Alice. Her eyes mirrored mine – they were petrified. Edward was a little quicker on the uptake and was relaying the information to the rest of the family. My mind raced as the sign for the Lincoln Tunnel burned in my mind – they were in New York City … near my aunt.

"We need to go," Alice suddenly spoke, a sharp edge in her tone. "It's someone that was related to the vampire leader we killed while saving Corey."

"A mate?" Carlisle asked.

"No, none of them had mates … I think it's … a family," she replied softly.

None of us said it, but we knew this was going to be a hard fight – family ties were not ones that were easily broken.


	24. Good luck

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note**: Enjoy!

**24. Good luck**

"Where are you going?" Jasper caught my arm as I headed out Edward's window. I had permanently established it as my room.

"I have to say goodbye to him," I said softly.

"Corey, we leave in a few hours … we don't have time to wait for you."

"I won't be long," I wasn't going to remove his hand – it was his choice.

"Let me come," his hand dropped.

"What? Why?" I hissed.

"Humor me …" he gave a half smile and then leaped out the window.

Frowning, completely confused as to why Jasper would ever want to accompany me on a last-minute goodbye session to my very alive human love interest. We ran in silence, but Edward's words echoed in my mind – _"You really need to exercise your power to its fullest extent."_

I dove into Jasper's mind as we ran. It was mostly focused on what we would need to do in order to get Rosalie and Emmett back. We were in some luck because the East Coast was in for a nasty bought of rain that had been sweeping across the nation, starting in Chicago. It looked like the tri-state area especially was going to have to fight not drowning. I pushed aside the front he had put up and tried to find the root of his desire to come with me. And then I saw an image of Alice – not a recent one, an old one. Judging by the clothes, it was at least ten years ago. I kept going.

He was remembering her, and their love. They had been together for a while, and the moment they found each other, they were in love. But the passion of a new romance doesn't last forever. Suddenly an image of me sitting with Mike on his roof – from last night – popped into his mind. I almost hit a tree when I saw this, but dodged it narrowly. It was through his perspective, in another secluded tree. He watched as we kissed, but it quickly vanished as he disappeared into the woods.

I pried myself from his mind. Two minutes later we were at Mike's house. I looked over at Jasper, sad, and confused. He knew I had been looking and he didn't try to hide the fact that he was aware of my intrusion.

"I want to remember what it's like to find love again," he said softly.

"I don't understand," I shook my head.

"Alice and I have gone through a lot, but the passion that is between a new couple, the same passion that is between Edward and Bella, does not last that intensely forever. I want to remember what it's like when everything is new," he looked to the house.

I wouldn't compare what I felt for Mike to Edward and Bella, but I didn't say anything. "So … you want to eavesdrop on me," I said, almost curiously.

"Yes," he said in a quick, blunt tone.

"As you wish," I jumped up on to Mike's roof, and waited until Jasper was on the highest roof. I sighed and then tapped on his window – despite the lack of screen. Within a second, anxiously waiting, Mike was smiling at me. "Hey, so I tell you to fix your screen and you remove it? What the heck?"

"Well – er – it was so it would, um, be easier for you to, um, come in," he shrugged, a little embarrassed.

"No, it's very thoughtful," I smiled, still sitting on the roof, outside his window.

"Are you going to come in?" I didn't respond, just listened to see if his parents were up. They were, but watching television in their room. "Or I could go out there, whichever works for –"

"I have to go away for a little while," I put my fingers on his lips and stared intently into his eyes.

"You what?"

"There is an emergency, and I have to go."

"What? Where? What happened?"

"Family issues," I sighed. "I have to go to New York City. I don't know how long it's going to be, but I have to go."

"When do you leave?"

"Tonight," I said softly and dropped my eyes. He didn't respond. "I came to say goodbye for a little while. I wanted to let you know so you didn't think I forgot about you." I waited for a response and got none. My eyes darted up to his bright blue ones – the same color mine used to be. "What's wrong?"

"I won't see you for a while?" his voice was meager.

"Perhaps …"

"What will I do during that time?"

I almost laughed out loud, and I heard Jasper snicker. I had to cover for him and pretend I was sneezing. He would pay for that later.

"Well … you could read a book," I smiled. "Or you could do some camping, hang out with friends … or maybe even get some sleep?"

"No, I can't, not when you're gone and –"

"Mike, are you listening to yourself?" I couldn't help, but patronize him. He looked awkwardly at me. "You're babbling on and on about how you won't survive like two days" – _Corey, don't lie …_ Jasper's voice rang clear through my head – "er, perhaps at most _a week_ without me. You'll be fine!"

"I really don't want you to go," he said softly.

"I know," I sighed.

"Come here," he led me to his bed and we sat on the edge. He opened the top drawer of his nightstand. I froze, knowing the rumors of what college boys kept in their top drawers, and afraid that he would want to something more than kissing. But my panic subsided when he took out a long silver chain with a silver cross and a silver shamrock charm on it. He put it in my hand.

"For me?" I frowned.

"It's a good luck charm I guess you could say," he shrugged. "I want you to be safe … and since I obviously can't go, here's me trying to help."

I looked down at the cross and shamrock. It was a simple gesture but meant so much to me. I couldn't respond.

His voice became uncertain. "You don't have to take it if you don't want –"

"No," I shook my head and placed the chain around my neck, "it means so much to me I can't find the right words to thank you."

He smiled and laced his fingers with mine. "I have a confession."

"You're not human," I joked, but secretly hoped that was not it.

"Heh, no I'm pretty human … not sure if I can say the same for you," he chuckled. "Um, that necklace is very special to me. The cross was a gift from my grandma and the shamrock has actually been in my family for generations."

"That's your confession?" I frowned.

"Um, no. My confession is that you're not the original person I had intended to give that to."

"Oh," I was sincerely surprised by his choice of topic to discuss, "who was?"

"Another girl … a high school crush. I mean I've moved on and all, but she was something special. It took me a while to get over her. I just feel like we need to be completely open and honest … and well, this is me confessing I suppose."

"Not Jessica I assume?"

"No, more important and special than her."

"Who was it? Was she at the diner that night?"

"No," he shook his head. Then he spoke in a low, grave voice as if the sheer thought of this girl's name weighed down his words. "Her name was Bella Swan."

My hands instinctually clenched, cracking Mike's knuckles. He let out a sound of pain, and I immediately let go. "I'm sorry," I instantly released his hand and held it gingerly; I hadn't broken it. "Oh, Mike, I'm sorry …"

"No, I'll be fine … I just … wait, you know her?" he suddenly realized the connection between his words and my reaction.

"I have to go," I smiled and moved lithely from the bed. I pulled him to the window. "I will see you when I return –"

"We're not done talking about this," he said softly, still holding my hand.

"No," I shook my head, "I suppose we're not. But for now you'll have to wait until I get back. Goodbye, Mike."

"Goodbye Corey," he kissed me intensely. I could feel his tongue trace the inside of my lips and the terrible urge to bite him surface – to just _taste_ his sweet blood on my tongue – NO! I pulled away as gracefully but as quickly as possible.

"Bye," I smiled and hopped out the window. I looked up and Jasper was staring intently at me. _I know … I've dug myself into a pretty deep hole …_

_He's going to find out sooner than later._

_Can we just go and get Rosalie and Emmett back?_

_Sure_, he sighed and we ran back to the house.


	25. New York City

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note**: Thank you for the reviews and for reading. Enjoy!

**25. New York City**

"Here," Bella handed me an envelope.

"What's this?" I frowned as we boarded the plane.

"Open it once we're in the air," she said softly and walked ahead of me.

Like Bella instructed, I waited until the seat belt sign was turned off and we were high in the sky. I slid my finger under the sealed flap and dumped the contents onto my lap. A Washington state license with my picture and name (well almost my name: "Coraline Quinn") and a passport with the same credentials fell out. I sighed and tucked the secret documents into my backpack. As we flew ahead three times zones, my mind wandered to Mike. I played aimlessly with the charms. I sat on the aisle seat. Alice was in the window seat and Jasper in between the two of us. To my right was Esme and Carlisle was reading a book in the window seat. Edward and Bella sat one row ahead of us with Edward on the end. I closed my eyes, sighed and leaned my chair back – obviously not sleeping, but attempting to allow myself to reboot. The biggest worry that plagued my mind was my lack of hand-to-hand combat – sure I wrestled with Jasper but that wasn't fighting to the death. But then again I was slowly learning that a lot of survival techniques were installed when I underwent my transformation, and it wasn't all a matter of thinking 'how do I kill this person?' it was a matter of just following my gut.

"That's a pretty necklace," Esme's voice rang in my head and interrupted my thoughts; I could feel her gaze on me. "Is it new?"

My hand wrapped around Jasper's wrist with a grip that would have broken a normal human's bones. I sighed and opened my eyes.

"Yeah," I smiled, and I could see Edward's head turn back slightly in my direction. _I'll tell you later, Edward._

"That cross is so pretty and oh, is that a shamrock?" her gentle fingers played with the charms. "How nice, where did you get –"

"Esme, look at that," Edward suddenly stood between the two of us and pointed her attention out the window past Carlisle, "it's like a patchwork. It actually looks like that blanket you have stuffed in our cottage."

"Well," she snickered, "I have to draw my inspiration from _somewhere_."

_Thank you_, I looked at Edward.

He didn't say anything, or look over at me, just subtly nodded in response.

When we landed in La Guardia my mind started to race. It was hard to remember all the details clearly, but the last time I had been in this airport was when I was saying goodbye to Diana. _We both knew that was going to be our last time seeing each other_, I thought as I followed them to the luggage pick-up.

"Where are we staying?" I asked.

"Millennium Broadway Hotel –"

"You're joking," I cut Carlisle off. He looked at me like I was nuts. "Carlisle, that's like the heart of the City and it's one of the largest hotels in the area!"

"So we can slip undetected as much as possible," Edward whispered in my ear as he glided down the escalator past me.

I looked to Carlisle who shrugged and nodded. "Face it Corey, we fit in with that crowd. We have the means to play up the role of a vacationing family from out of town."

"So we're the Quinn family?" I raised an eyebrow, my mind tracing back to my falsified documents.

"Is there a problem?" Carlisle seemed amused.

"No it's just so … _normal_."

"And Cullen isn't?" he frowned.

We glided over to the conveyor belt where the rest of the family was already waiting for us. I couldn't put my finger on it. There was definitely something comical about the whole thing.

"No," I responded, my thoughts bringing a smile to my face, "Cullen is a pretty common last name … I just … I don't know, I guess I expected something more original."

"Well if we get too original we're memorable. But I'll make you a deal. Next time we have to plan a rescue trip out of town, you can choose the last name."

I chuckled. "I appreciate it."

We grabbed our bags and hailed cabs to Time Square. Alice's visions were holding up so far. We hadn't run into anything unpleasant and the weather was cooperating nicely – rain and clouds were expected for the next four days at least. We checked into the hotel – Carlisle and Esme in one room, Edward and Bella in another, and that left me awkwardly with Alice and Jasper. Our room, however, connected with Carlisle and Esme's.

For three full days we searched. Day and night through the pounding rain we tried. Alice didn't see much, just clips of Rosalie and Emmett, disoriented and now captured by the family, but that was it. Their scent of course was impossible to try to track in a city of over 12 million people. On the fourth day we met in Esme and Carlisle's room. We all convened and discussed the best plan of action.

"They've been keeping them in the same, very dark place. There's hardly anything to even distinguish this place from the back alley around the corner. They're hiding somewhere …" Alice started to sound like a broken record. She sat in a chair in Esme's room. "They're …" Her voice trailed off, and there was something about her expression – it seemed more intense, as if there was something new to seem. Jasper stuck a pencil in her hand and she drew.

"If this doesn't look familiar," Bella muttered.

"They're moving them now … I can see more clearly …" her hand moved at lightening speed, but not too fast for any of our eyes. Her hand sketched a strangely familiar theater and its surrounding areas.

"What theater is this, Corey?" Edward asked very directly, he was at his wits end.

"Um …" I racked my brain. I knew I had been to it. It wasn't until she added a few more details and I saw the word "RENT" appear, that I was certain of the building location. "The Nederlander."

"Where is it?"

"I think in the 200's," my eyes went wide. "It's been a long time since I've been there … I don't even think anything is play there right now …"

"It's abandoned?" Carlisle asked, a strange edge to his tone.

"It has been for a few months … RENT went off-Broadway …" I looked at him sideways. Again, Edward's words about exercising my power more rang through my head. I dove into Carlisle's.

_Abandoned theater … A good place to hide them … Edward! What if … I didn't think of this before … Is Corey strong enough to try to contact Rosalie and Emmett through her mind? I don't want to push her too hard. She's been doing really well and I'm afraid we'll make her snap if she reached out too far –_

"I won't _snap_!" I instinctually spoke into the silence and then realized all stunned faces were on me. Edward and Carlisle turned, but not as surprised as the rest of them. "Sorry … that, um, that wasn't a very good impression was it …"

Jasper made a weird coughing noise, but it soon turned to laughter. The rest of them joined in and I stood tapping my foot, waiting for the hilarity – at my expense – to wear off. When they had stopped laughing, it was back to planning.

"I'll try to find them … I … It's going to be hard, they're over 50 blocks away. But maybe it will help to know they're at that specific theater," I eyed them warily.

"Just try," Esme put a comforting hand on my back.

I nodded and closed my eyes. I concentrated on nothing – just imagining nothing but black emptiness. When my senses had calmed down a little, I focused on an image of Rosalie. I remembered what she was wearing the day she had left – it was of course beautiful, even if they were only playing Monopoly. Her long, blonde hair was pulled back in a messy bun, with lots of perfect strands hanging down. She wore light cargo khaki pants and a white tube top that had long strings that tied around her neck. She didn't have shoes on while playing … I hoped she had sense enough to put some on as she left.

_Rosalie … Rosalie it's Corey, please respond …_

Silence.

_ROSALIE, EMMETT!!!! WHERE ARE YOU?!_

Silence.

Panic began to form like a lead ball in my chest. I knew I was freaking Jasper out. Edward was listening I was sure. I continued to grope in the darkness.

_ROSALIE HALE LISTEN TO ME! WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU. YOU HAVE TO GIVE US SOME GUIDANCE!_

Silence. I opened my eyes and shook my head. Esme made a mournful cry and hugged me. I let my head drop. We were back to square one. _I let everyone down …_

"No you didn't," Edward said softly.

"I think now that we have a specific location, the only option now is divide and conquer," Jasper said solemnly. I met his eyes and I suddenly felt a strange sense of relief run through me – I knew it was only Jazz messing with the emotions in the room, but I could live with a false sense of comfort … for now.

_Thank you_, I said to him and a thin smile spread across his face.


	26. Saving Rosalie and Emmett

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note**: This is the longest chapter I've ever written in fan fiction history. However, compared to some chapters out there it's not THAT long … anyways, enjoy! :o)

**26. Saving Rosalie and Emmett**

We spent a lot of time planning and strategizing. Alice foresaw the weather continuing on its same dismal path so we didn't have to really worry about concealing ourselves. We decided that a reconnaissance team to the theater would be best. Edward and Carlisle were chosen to venture to the Nederlander while I stayed as the rest of the group's liaison. It was useful to have the ability to communicate through our minds – it eliminated the unnecessary time on the phones. But of course we each held a simple silver phone on our person.

"We'll check it out, see what we can find," Carlisle explained.

"Be on your guard, Alice," Edward instructed. "You know we're counting on you to inform us of any sudden changes."

"Of course," she nodded.

"Hopefully we'll be back in at least two hours," Carlisle looked at his watch. "We'll keep in constant contact."

"Be safe," Esme held Carlisle's hand and for the first time I read complete fear across her face. The way she held his hand was not with the undying passion like between the younger couples, but the way I pictured soul mates that had been together for centuries … like Esme and Carlisle. The love that emanated from her was almost tangible.

"We will," Carlisle held her face in his hands and kissed her passionately. For some reason it wasn't something I could watch – it felt like such a private moment that it was rude of me to stare. "Come on Edward."

"I love you," Bella whispered to Edward and the two kissed – but with a fiery passion usually found between new couples.

They exited so quickly and quietly; the only sound was the door shutting. That left the four of us to sit and wait. At first we didn't say anything, just stared. After fifteen minutes Esme suggested we play a game to keep our minds off how worried we were. It worked for a half hour or so, but then it just got monotonous. I talked to Edward and Carlisle a few times, but they said it was taking a really long time to get to the theater due to the amount of people and they couldn't just run by everyone – it would be quite shocking to most pedestrians. Forty minutes later they were at the theater.

_It's dark and empty,_ Edward narrated. _It's definitely been in use, but very minimal. I think they're rehearsing for another play here, but no one's here now. We also don't see Rosalie or Emmett here. Has Alice seen anything?_

_No._

_Hmm … Carlisle and I have caught Rosalie's scent … it's faint, but it's here … They're here! Under the stage, there's a trap door in the wings, Carlisle has found it and –_

Silence.

"Edward?" I opened my eyes. _Edward? _Silence.

"Noooo!" both Alice and I yelled at the same time.

"What? What's happened? Where are they going?" Esme, Jasper, and Bella leaped to their feet and started hounding us for answers. I turned my frantic gaze to Alice.

"It was a trap. They knew we would track them to the theater. They've got Edward and Carlisle. There are five of them – a family of sorts. There's a leader and his mate, a son and his mate, and then a sister … a twin … of the one that got away –"

"Hannah," I said softly, completely frozen.

"Her twin sister," Alice said again.

We all looked at each other.

"Do they know how many of us there are?" Jasper pressed.

"No, they think this is it. They won't expect a second wave. Tell Edward to keep quiet –"

"But I lost communication with him!" I cried.

"Just try!" Alice was two inches from my face.

"Okay," I nodded, trembling. _Edward … Carlisle … if you can hear me … they don't know how many of us there are … just … we're coming. Don't tell them there are more … we're coming …_ I opened my eyes.

"Do they have any special powers?" Jasper was interrogating Alice.

"No … wait … yes, the twin. She's like Alec … can remove your senses, leaving you in the dark, only she can remove them one by one. She's skilled … I think," Alice stared for a moment then continued, "yes, she's muted Rosalie and Emmett, which is why we can't reach them."

"What about Edward and Carlisle?" Bella asked.

"I … yes … she's muted them also."

"What now?" I asked, scared.

"We get them," Bella said with a fire of hatred that danced in her eyes. She held a little silver square in her hand. Almost as if she sensed my curiosity, she opened it with a subtle flick of her wrist and a flame danced wildly. It was a lighter.

"Okay," Jasper said gravely, a silver square in his hand also. It took me a minute to realize I was the only one who wasn't armed, but Alice's little hand held one for me. "Let's go."

We didn't even bother hailing cabs – we ran. The rain was coming down, steady, but nothing prevented us from moving at lightening speed to the Theater District. We were all wearing plain clothes so we didn't seem like one colorful blur as we zipped by. We all wore jeans, and either black or blue shirts. When we got to the theater it was very quiet.

_Are they inside, Alice?_ I asked.

_Yeah, in that trap door under the stage. Ask Jasper what we should do._

After relaying the question, Jasper responded with a curious idea: _Maybe I should go first. I'll distract them, or even make them all feel on edge. You've experienced my calming effects, but haven't even begun to feel what it's like when I make you jumpy._

_I like that idea. Should we stay out here and wait for the go ahead?_

_Yeah. Try listening for their minds first,_ Jasper instructed.

I closed my eyes and searched. I tried to remember what the inside of the theater looked like. Getting some sort of visual was always helpful for me because it just gave my mind a place to focus. I found the stage and tried to imagine where this trap door could be – it definitely wasn't used during the production of RENT. I reached out my mind to search for something – anything that was there.

_Hailey –_

My eyes snapped open and they all looked at me. "The twin's name is Hailey," I closed my eyes shut, squeezing them and willing my mind to find out more.

_Hailey is going to get us killed!_ A strong female voice hissed in one of the vampire's minds. _She's so reckless … thinking her power is invincible – what if there are more? What if they have powers? But the others did go down easily –_

_I hate New York City_, a deep, male voice suddenly interrupted my trace on the mysterious female. So this was what it was like in Edward's mind – an unending brigade of thoughts that he alone was left to sort out. _Why do we always have to do what Hailey wants? She's such a bitch. Backstabbing bitch that would –_

_I hope we finish this soon, I can't wait to have sex again,_ a high-pitched female voice cut off the male. It was getting very confusing. _Eric is so hot when he's getting ready to kill … I hate Hailey –_

_I hope this doesn't backfire. If we get caught –_

_What if we decided to –_

_Canada's a nice place to live –_

_This is for Hannah – _Hailey's voice was the last I heard until I stopped it.

"No!" I hissed and put my hands over my ears.

"What is it?" Jasper asked in a low voice.

"I can't sort the voices … all of them … I can hear their voices all at once. It's too much."

"You can't sort them?"

"No," I shook my head, "I haven't practiced enough to do that …"

"We'll be fine," Esme said softly.

"Wait," Bella's eyes lit up. "I have an idea." We turned to her. "I can protect us from what's-her-face. But they have no idea what Corey can do, so what if we messed with _their_ minds?"

"How so?" I frowned.

"We go in, stay hidden, but confuse them. I'll block us from whatever mental attack that female has and Corey can imitate their voices, pit them against each other. If we – what?" she hissed at my skeptical face.

"I'm not that skilled, Bella," worry surfaced in my voice. "You're putting a lot of eggs in my basket and I'm not so sure I can carry them all …"

"Yes you can," Jasper said softly and Esme rested her hand on my back.

"What if I screw up and end up getting all of us killed?"

"You won't," Esme took my face in her hands and stared darkly into my eyes.

"No," Alice shook her head and squeezed me tightly, "you won't. I can see it." Well that was a good sign.

"Let's start a fire in a barrel," Esme turned her eyes down the back alley. "We can throw them in there … we can't leave any evidence." She was right.

As the fire roared, fueled by cardboard and other garbage that filled the barrel to the brim, we slipped in a side door, completely unnoticed, and this time we actually heard voices with our ears. We hid behind the last row of seats on the lower level. All five of them were sitting on the stage, deliberating.

The male leader, the one standing and talking to them in a hushed voice, was tall, well-built, but older than Carlisle. He actually looked like he could be their father. The female sitting on the floor to his right was older also, blonde, pretty – except for her blood red eyes. She had short straight hair. The one to her right was the "son" – I assumed it was Eric since it didn't seem very characteristic of this older woman to only think of sex with her husband. Eric was gangly, long limbs, dark curly hair, and seemed like he was changed in his awkward years during high school. But when he stood and started walking, there was no doubt he was just as graceful as every other vampire in the world. The girl that followed him could only be his mate – the high-pitched soprano that had all but broken my eardrums. She was medium height, probably taller than Alice and me but was super skinny and with flaming red hair and eyes that matched. The way she touched and caressed Eric, it didn't take a telepath or Edward to know what was on her one-tracked mind. Finally, the last of the family was a silent blonde female – obviously Hailey. She looked like her dead twin to the T, even the style of clothes – jeans, a pale green t-shirt, and light cotton jacket over – were the same.

_Now what?_ I looked at Alice.

_Tell Bella to protect us and then start torturing them. Hailey may get alarmed if she senses someone messing with her mentally._

I relayed the message in a low voice, her power prevented me from communicating mentally with her, and Bella nodded understanding. After she was sure we were all protected, I peered over the seats and picked out Eric's mate first. She would be easy. She didn't look a day over 17; hopefully youth would play a factor in how immature her mind was.

_So you want to ditch me just so you can get some?_ I mimicked Hailey's voice in the girl's head. The redhead turned and hissed at Hailey.

"What Madison?" Hailey spat.

She didn't answer; just turned back to Eric as if he survived alone on the attention she gave him. It probably wasn't too far off. Jasper warned us that he was going to let out some angry emotions, and that we should try to focus on calming thoughts. After a minute, I definitely felt agitated and just wanted to rush over and kill the other vampires, but a steady hand – Jasper's – stopped me as I subconsciously went to stand. I nodded understanding and turned back to Madison.

_He's too good for you, Madison. You're such a baby … a worthless bloodsucking leech –_ thank you Jacob for the derogatory vocabulary – _that will never amount to anything … what makes you think he'll stay with you forever –_

"I'll kill you!" Madison darted at Hailey and the two started to roll on the stage, ignoring whatever the leader was saying. All other motion stopped as the clan tried to split up the fight.

_Good,_ Alice smiled widely.

"Bella, feel anything attacking?" I looked over. She shook her head and turned her eyes back to the fight.

_What if we just let them kill each other?_ I made the voice of the leader's mate echo in both Hailey and Madison's heads. Nothing happened at first, and I figured I had failed, but a blood curdling – and unfortunately strictly mental – shriek made me roll over clutching my head. As I was in their minds, relaying my message, Hailey had unintentionally attacked the female she believed to be invading her mind by attempting to deafen her – and luckily Bella's shield was protecting me because when her power hit me all I got was a very intense ringing. It faded after a few seconds, but it hurt mentally.

"What is this ladies?" the leader was distraught over the fighting.

"Ask your wife, Paul!" Hailey hissed as she still struggled with Madison. Snarls and hisses echoed throughout the empty theater.

"Juliette?" Paul turned to his mate.

"I didn't say anything!" the strong voice I had heard before through her mind was gone and panic made it jump a few octaves.

"I don't think we're alone," Paul growled and turned his eyes to the theater.

_Not good,_ Esme thought as she stared at me.

_I have an idea …_ I thought confidently.

"Of course we are, old man!" Eric snarled back.

"You're too young to know when your attackers aren't always the most … _visible_," he sneered. Something in his tone made the hairs on my neck stand up – that was sinister.

I closed my eyes and focused on Paul. He was the biggest issue right now because he actually knew something was wrong and didn't care that his family was pulling themselves apart. I hastily pieced together a fabricated memory of us entering the theater and confronting the family. In the memory I concocted a fight where we fought valiantly but did not win in the end. It left us paralyzed by Hailey and Madison dead, burning in the corner of the room – the whole thing ended in flames. I sent the memory to his mind and hoped I didn't pass out like I did when I had basically erased Mike's memory.

"No!" Paul suddenly yelled and ran to where the "fire" was. "Madison!"

This caused all commotion to stop as their fearless leader idiotically yelled at an empty seat in the theater. Madison went to his side, but Paul didn't hear a word she said. He was so immersed in the memory he was sure was true nothing affected him.

"Hailey, what's happening to him?!" Juliette shrieked.

"I don't know," Hailey stammered and frowned. Then her eyes darted to where we were sitting. "He's right, we're not alone."

Just then the AC kicked in full power, sending a powerful gust of air past us and towards the front of the stage. Our eyes went wide as we watched dust particles move and blow in slow motion. Our sent would be caught in just a few seconds. I began scrambling everyone's minds at this point.

_Madison hates you, Eric!_ Hailey's voice to Eric.

_He'll leave you as soon as this is done! He wants me!_ Hailey's voice to Madison.

_You're worthless. No one wants you, Hailey._ Eric's voice to Hailey. _You think I want you, but I don't – you're just another pretty face._

Back and forth I went until Hailey had turned around completely and the arguments that had started before were rekindled. Paul still cried in the corner of the theater. Now was the best chance as any to attack. Jasper added a huge dose of frustration laced with anger, rage and malice. Alice was the first to run full steam ahead at Hailey – our most dangerous opponent. She leaped on to Hailey's back and tried to snap her neck, but Hailey was strong.

"Attack!" Hailey screeched at the top of her lungs. Confusion – without the help of Jasper – swept over the vampires. They weren't sure where to turn first.

I focused my attack on Madison – luring her towards me. I attempted to convince her Eric was in pain and dying at my feet. It took her a moment, but soon the false images that danced in her head were real enough for her to run at me. In her mind my back was turned, and I had no idea what was going on, so she crept slowly. She was so slow that she literally walked into my hands and I turned her head.

"Esme, the door!" I yelled.

Esme ducked under Juliette's fierce hand and opened the back alley stage door and I threw the head into the firing barrel that billowed dark smoke and smelled awful. We ripped Madison apart – Esme and I – and threw her body into the flames. Soon Juliette's body was being ripped by Jasper and Bella. But Alice still struggled with Hailey and the most horrific sight came to my eyes.

One moment we were in control, the next Eric had his hands around Alice's little arm and was ripping it off. Jasper was uncontrollable as he raced at Eric, baring his teeth and biting fiercely. I forgot about my teeth and then darted in where I dug them deep into Hailey's Achilles' heel. She screamed in pain and released Alice's limp body.

"Nooooo!" Esme screamed and in one blow she snapped Hailey's head. Hailey's body lay at the bottom of the barrel, her hand still twitching as it clung to the edge, but Esme flicked it almost happily into the flames.

Jasper tore Eric's body apart so fast it was even a blur to my eyes. I paused and watched in horror as screams and growls echoed through the empty theater. This used to be a happy place – a place where people enjoyed themselves – now it was a grave. Bella tossed Eric's body parts into the flames as Jasper ripped them. Alice lay still on the ground, not moving. Esme, Bella and I took Paul's body apart. He was much harder to battle though. However we had the strength of youth on our side – Bella and I were still newborns and together we ripped him literally in half, and Esme tossed his head into the fire.

When it was done we turned to where Jasper lay weeping on the ground with Alice's body in his hands. She didn't move except with Jasper's trembling body. We all lay helplessly by her side – forgetting the others. My mind tried to wander into Jasper's but it was such a tangled mess that I feared getting lost inside. Instead, I stayed out and turned my head to the stage.


	27. Recovery

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note**: C'mon guys, do you really think I'd kill Alice? She's my favorite female character! But as people have so astutely commented, it will take a little more than just a missing arm to keep this girl down! Thanks for the reviews, um, I apologize for any tears that were shed (I actually wasn't going for that!) – remember, "a nose in need, deserves Puffs indeed!" … And as the last part was my longest chapter ever, this may be my shortest. Enjoy the little respite! :o)

**27. Recovery**

_Edward?_ I called out.

_C-Corey?_ his voice was weak, muffled and groggy.

_Where are you?_ panic echoed through my head.

_The door … underneath …_

"Bella, Esme," I ran to the stage and searched for the trap door. It was off stage, hidden.

We slipped under and found the rest of our family hiding in a tiny crawl space. We slowly helped them out where the lights of the stage danced across their radiant skin. Rosalie and Emmett were the worst. They were still groggy, not sure where they were, and not sure who we were. It took a while to convince Emmett we weren't playing tricks on him.

I turned back to Jasper and almost fell over in shock when I saw Alice sitting up, talking to him and moving her once detached arm. The only sign that there had even been a separation was the fact that her shirt was ripped at the shoulder.

"How … what …" I touched her skin.

"Apart of being a vampire," Alice smiled and hugged Jasper tightly.

"But you had lost it, and _you_" – I pointed at Jasper – "you were crying and –"

"I thought she had lost it forever," Jasper held Alice fiercely. "It's not easy to kill a vampire Corey. You know the basics, but the reason we rip the bodies and then _burn_ them is because the body will reattach itself if not destroyed to ashes. I thought her arm was thrown in the fire … and that would have been awful."

"Oh Alice," I threw my body on top of hers and didn't even care if she liked me or not – my sister was complete.

- - - - -

The next day we landed back in Washington and sadly the weather hadn't changed much from our journey westward. We returned to a continuous coverage of cloud and fog … the usual. As we meandered back into the house we were greeted by Jacob and Renesmee, whose joyous sounds were audible half way up the driveway. Jacob insisted on details (since he was not allowed to attend the funeral of more bloodsuckers) as we brought our luggage in and set Rosalie and Emmett softly on the couch.

They had remained silent the entire way back and seemed like they were going to remain that way for a while. It was traumatizing. I searched their minds a little, but even the thoughts they kept replaying were incoherent and muddled. It hurt my head to attempt to decipher so I just stayed out as Edward, who was much more deft in the fine art of mind reading, delved in.

"We should hunt," Carlisle said promptly once all the bags were packed away.

"What about Rose and Emmett?" I looked at them.

"They'll be okay," Carlisle rested a comforting hand on my shoulder and smiled.

"C'mon, let's go," Jasper nudged me, but I kept my feet in place. "Corey, c'mon."

"I can't," I said softly and looked up at his black eyes. "I can't hunt with you Jasper … just go ahead, I'll go later."

"I don't understand why," he frowned.

"These teeth are weapons that I've used against you," I sat down next to Rosalie and took her hand, gently stroking it in an effort to soothe her.

"But you're a … well, you're a child," he tried to reason, "it's what baby vampires do! They bite -!"

"Don't argue," I smiled, "it's a quirk you'll have to accept. Now go … I'll be fine." I turned my face to Rosalie who was just dazing off in space, head rested on Emmett's shoulder, other hand entwined with his. I continued to comfort her and to my great surprise I felt her hand tighten around mine. "Yes … I think everything will be fine now …"


	28. Happiness

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note**: Another rather short chapter. Sorry. But after all this drama a nice light, fluffy chapter is exactly what we need. Only three more installments after this! Enjoy! :o)

**28. Happiness**

It took Rosalie and Emmett three days to finally come around from their traumatic experience. Hailey's power crippled them, and to be left without any senses, just knowing you're alive, but locked in your own personal hell takes a while to wear off. I was sitting with Rosalie when she finally started to show any sign of emotion again. I was holding her hand and watching a sports game when she squeezed it even harder than before and turned her head towards me.

"Coraline?" her usually melodic voice was broken.

"Rose?!" my eyes lit up and I instantly turned off the television. "Rose, how are you doing?" I was so afraid of scaring her I spoke in whisper.

"I'm …" she frowned and look at Emmett who was still staring off into space. She took in her surroundings, figuring she was indeed safe. "We're safe."

"Yes, you are," I inched closer to her.

"Thank you," her lower lip quivered, something that I had never witnessed nor heard of happening. Her vulnerability made my heart break and I grabbed her in a fierce hug. At first I heard the breath escape from her lungs, but then she slowly placed her arms around me in response. "I'm sorry …"

"Don't be, you're home, you're safe, it's over," I held Rosalie tight to me and I could feel our bond as sisters truly forming now.

Esme waltzed in, sifting through mail when she saw me hugging Rosalie and all chances of keeping the awakening a quiet moment went to pieces. There were joyous cries and tearless sobs of excitement. Soon the whole house, even those playing outside, were gathering around the couch and embracing Rosalie. She wasn't opposed to the affection, as she normally would have. Emmett slowly blinked and came to in the middle of all the craziness and was caught off-guard by the hugs and cheers. We celebrated the rest of the evening, and I could tell as the sun set all Emmett and Rosalie wanted to do was turn in by themselves and just stare into each other's eyes.

I smiled as I watched them ascend the staircase, hand in hand. The wave of happiness I felt while they were down with us was immense, and I expected it to go away as soon as they disappeared. It was still my biggest weakness: my jealously for my family's happiness. But once they were out of site the high didn't go away. I still felt as thrilled as I had when Rosalie first spoke. As I stood, rooted to the spot my mind wandered down so many paths, it was impossible to track them all. I think a wry smile was spread across my face because Jasper stood in front of me with the most confused expression on.

"What?" I continued to smile.

"That's what I was going to ask you," he frowned, "what is with the grin?"

"Am I not allowed to show happiness?" I was beginning to take off with the realization that I was beginning to feel … _alive_!

"Of course you are, but … I have honestly never seen that smile before. Did I miss something?"

I loved when Jasper attempted to figure me out because it always ended up with Edward walking over, chuckling to himself at the same moment, and only causing Jasper to get even more agitated. Like clockwork, Edward _did_ walk over with that crooked smile of his plastered to his face. Normally I would have shooed him away so he couldn't tell Jasper anything, but I didn't care this time.

"What? What did I miss?" Jasper was legitimately frustrated.

"Her expression says it all Jasper, I can't believe you're being so unperceptive of what you see."

"What?" he hissed.

"She's happy, Jazz," Alice giggled at his stupidity. He only glanced back at me with a questioning look.

"It's true," I shrugged. "That's all there is to it … I'm … I'm happy."

"And you weren't before with … with Mike?"

"Oh no, that was satisfaction too," I nodded, "but I feel … hmm … how do I say this? I feel alive! Can't you sense it?" I put my hand on his arm.

"I did I was just … I don't know … I never sensed this _sort_ of happiness from you."

"I don't follow," I frowned.

"It's so _pure_," he replied awe, but then smiled. "Of all the people in the world … Rosalie was the one to complete that little missing piece inside of you. I don't know why, but whatever she said to you has just made you the happiest vampire at the moment."

"So happy I could hug everyone!" I smiled, knowing as much as Jasper loved me, he wasn't always one for hugs.

"No!" he sprinted to the other side of the couch. "NO! Coraline!"

"Hugsies!" I chased after him, laughing, and soon I had Alice and Renesmee involved. Edward and Bella were laughing too hard to even participate in the torture of Jasper. This was what I was missing – the feeling of a complete family and affirmation that I was truly home forever.


	29. My confession

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note**: Thank you for the reviews & reading! Enjoy! :o)

**29. My confession**

"You have to," Jasper tried nudging me out Edward's window – even though I had taken over the room, I would forever call the room Edward's.

"I can't," I stepped to the side before his hand had touched me, causing Jasper to almost fall out the window himself from his forward momentum.

"You have to," there was an edge in his voice, which I knew was due to my quick side step. I still had newborn speed and strength on my side. "He deserves the truth."

"But … what if he hates me?"

"C'mon, do you really think that's going to happen?" Jasper sighed, annoyance lacing his tone.

"I dunno," I grumbled and crossed my arms.

"Coraline Preston Cullen," Jasper said in a very annoyed voice.

"Oh fine!" I jumped out the window and we ran over to Mike's. It had been a week since I had said goodbye and I knew he would be anxious, I just was hoping I wouldn't have to live up to my end of the bargain and confess to being a blood-drinking monstrosity. When we arrived at his house I saw him staring out the window. "Is he …?" I trailed off.

"Yes, he's waiting for you. I told you, now go," Jasper caught me off guard and pushed me forward. Mike's eyes caught the commotion.

_Jerk!_ I yelled at him mentally and I could hear a faint laugh as he doubled back so he could perch on the roof – just in case I lost control. I skipped to Mike's window and leapt up onto the overhang.

"I couldn't tell if that was you or not!" Mike's eyes lit up.

"Who else would it be, silly?" I smiled.

"I just … I've been waiting each night and … I'm so glad you're back!" he was fumbling over his words and blushing.

I laughed and put a cold hand on his warm cheek. He barely flinched. "We need to talk," I continued to smile, but my voice meant business.

"Ah, yeah … I guess so …" he stepped aside so I could enter but I shook my head and extended my hand instead. "I'm coming out I assume?"

"Grab some shoes … we're going running," I smiled.

"Ooookay …" Mike replied skeptically but hastily threw on socks that didn't match and a pair of Nike's.

"We're going to have to jump first," I walked to the edge of the ledge.

"I draw the line there," he stopped midway through his exit out the window. "I can't _jump_ off the roof."

"Of course you can. I'll help, c'mon."

After another five minutes of persuasive talking, I finally got Mike to go near the edge of the roof. Without notice, I picked up him in one swoop and jumped off the edge. His heart literally skipped a beat and then his pulse was rushing. I set him down quickly but all colored had drained from his face. He stumbled backwards and fell on to the ground.

"Well that didn't go as well as I had hoped," I sighed and quickly looked up to see Jasper holding in a bouts of laughter – I'd close his head in the backdoor later.

"What just happened?" Mike stuttered.

"Let's walk for a little while," I took his hand and led him into the woods. "So who should go first?" I began playing with the silver chain, a habit I had picked up ever since it was placed around my neck.

"Um … I guess you since I was the last to confess."

"Hm … okay," I drew a deep breath. _Jazz, where are you?_

_Look up._

I raised my eyes in a flash and saw a dark shadow overhead.

"Okay," I sighed again and tried to calm the uneasiness inside me. "So last November I disappeared from the mountain. You know this."

"Riiight …"

"And what the police found was true. There was a fire, blood everywhere, all of it mine … I was in the process of being murdered when I was saved," I paused, letting Mike take this all in. It had to be served in small doses, not only for his sake, but also my own. The images that flickered in and out of focus still sent a haunted chill down my back.

"Okay," he finally spoke.

"I was found by nearby residents," I was going to wait to divulge the Cullen name. "They saved me by great acts of miracles. I am … um, alive" – wow, I said it – "thanks to them."

"I don't understand why they didn't bring you to the hospital. I mean people were worried, there was a missing person's report – there still is! And Jessica –"

"Stop," I couldn't hear her name. "I know what happened in my wake, but understand that this disappearance was because it was the only way."

"You need to explain this better, Corey," he shook his head.

I stopped and put my hands around his face. "Behind what you see here, I hold a very dark secret with me. It will be with me for the rest of eternity. And it's not an easy secret to divulge … you understand?" He simply nodded. "What I'm about to tell you cannot and will not be repeated … you can't even write it down. I will know if you tell anyone … believe me … I know everything that goes on in the minds of those around me. I will resort to a flagrant invasion of privacy if I feel threatened, okay?"

"Yes," his voice was a soft whisper and I let my hands drop.

"And you're by no means obligated to stay with me if this scares you beyond all belief."

"I'm pretty nervous now."

"I know … I can tell," I flashed a quick smile, then remained placid. "I'm not human Mike. I'm alive, but not as a human. You saw how quickly I can move and you saw my strength. I could break you in half if I wanted to …" I paused and watched as his forehead wrinkled in thought. When it smoothed, I continued. "I don't breathe, I don't sleep, I don't eat food …"

I secretly dove into his mind. _Doesn't breathe … doesn't sleep … doesn't – eat? … cold hands … sometimes dark eyes, but sometimes golden … incredibly fast … what about … sunlight?_ I stepped out of his tortured mind and let my eyes drop, I wouldn't break any rules … he would figure it out himself.

"You know the answer, Mike," I said softly and stepped back. "It's in your mind … you just have to get over the fact that the idea is beyond ludicrous."

_He's not afraid, Corey,_ Jasper's voice rang through the silence.

_What?!_

_He's not afraid. He's curious … and actually a little smug … he's proud of himself for figuring this out … actually I think he's more complacent about figuring out what the rest of us are._

_So you guys will get dragged into this after all,_ I sighed.

_Sadly … but it was bound to happen._

"What are you thinking about?" he asked softly, eyes fixed on me.

"Just wondering if you've come up with an explanation for all of this."

"I have an idea."

"Fire away," I replied blandly.

"There are people like you here in Forks … the Cullens. I mentioned them before." I nodded during his pause. "They never ate anything at lunch, just played with their food. Edward, one of the younger ones, used to just pick bagels apart every day. I bumped into one of them once, I think it was the little one Alice, his sister, and she was ice cold. Her hands felt like they were shoved in a freezer …

"They all had golden eyes like yours. I never noticed if they changed like yours or not, but then again I never actually knew any of them that well – certainly not well enough to stare into their eyes at any great length. But yours, they change. Usually they're gold, but sometimes I see specks of black … I still think you're beautiful, though" – I couldn't look at him as he said this for some reason, it was painful – "and I think I know what you are, but it's hard you see … because … well … this Edward I mentioned, he married Bella. When I was in high school I was really a stupid kid, I only saw Bella and every other girl for what they were on the outside. I didn't see her for how good a friend she was. A year away can wake you up and make you realize how many fake people there are in the world, especially in California. I actually missed Forks while I was away in the sunshine state." He paused to chuckle.

"So come to any conclusions?" I gave a half smile.

"They never came to school when it was sunny," Mike suddenly became grave, and this made me step back even more.

_He's not afraid, Corey,_ Jasper's words echoed in my head.

_No, Jazz, I'm afraid!_

_Why?_

_I don't know … he shouldn't be this calm._ And secretly I realized that I had almost _hoped_ or banked on him being scared of me. But why would I want that? This realization confused me.

_It is strange._

"Corey?" Mike frowned.

"Sorry … there's a conversation going on in my head. I'm paying attention."

"They never came to school when it was sunny. They were always hiking with their adoptive father and mother. They still live here," he dropped his voice. "Dr. Cullen still works at the hospital, and they say he's 32, but there is no way. He's too young looking."

"So I've heard … J –" I stuttered, then composed myself. "J-Jess told me about the Cullen family and their bizarre living situation. She mentioned something about them leaving and returning … but didn't they move to California? It's pretty sunny there."

"Do you really think they moved there?" he raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know," I replied truthfully, I never asked them.

"I think you're like them."

"And what are we then?" I urged him to get to the point – it was tiring.

"Vampires," he said so low my ears actually had to work to catch the word.

I didn't respond. Jasper was silent; he didn't even rustle the tree branch he was sitting on.

"It's true?" Mike asked, but not in shock.

"What if I told you it was, then what?"

"Well … then I would, um, have to say we need to discuss your, um, motives for being with me," he said blushed at the last part.

"You mean if you're dinner or not?" I wanted to laugh, but it wasn't appropriate.

"Yeah, something like that."

"Why would I kill you?" I frowned.

"You … you mean you really haven't thought of just using me for … well, food?" his voice sounded like the wind was knocked out of his lungs.

"Of course! Even if I were some mythical creature that is supposed to feed on humans, that does not mean attraction between the prey and the predator is impossible!"

"Oh well I just thought …"

"You thought I only wanted your blood," I didn't even have to read his mind to know.

"Something like that," he said ashamed.

"No, Mike, not at all," I took a tiny step closer. "I'm sorry I cracked your hand when you mentioned Bella's name …" – deep breath – "I'm ready to explain my reaction." He just looked at me. "She's, er, my sister … so to say …"

"I don't understand."

"I have a new name," a smile tugged at the corners of my mouth – it gave me such pride and happiness every time I thought about it, "it's Coraline Preston _Cullen_."

Mike's eyes went wide. "What."

"I live with the Cullens."

"You what."

"Mike …" there was warning in my tone. "Please don't do anything irrational."

"I'm not … I'm just … I need to process this," he sat on a log. I let him process for ten long minutes. "So you … they saved you?" I nodded. "By … turning you into one of them?" I nodded again. "Bella …"

"She chose the life she has," I said softly. "She is very happy with her new life."

"I can't even wrap my mind around this. I'm like in a dream … I'm dreaming and I'm going to wake up. This is impossible."

"Is it?" I crouched down and looked up at his face. "Is it really?" He didn't respond. "How else do you think Bella was saved that day the van crashed into her truck?" Then I saw realization sweep over his face. "Our worlds were never meant to collide, but they did. I can't undo what has happened to me and I can't reverse the things I've told you … but we …" I paused and smiled at what Edward had said to me during my first outburst. "We can look ahead …"

"Ahead?" he frowned.

"If you wish we could continue with whatever we have going on here … But if you want me to leave, then I will. I leave the rest of this in your very capable hands. I can't tell what the future holds, but I am satisfied with whatever will make you happy," I stood and extended my hand. "It is late, and you need to get back before your mom notices you're gone."

"Whatever," he mumbled, but still took my hand.

"I promised you a run, would you like to see how fast I can really move?" I asked curiously.

"I guess," he replied indifferently.

"Hold on tight," I whispered, and in one lithe motion, before he could protest, I knocked his feet out from under him and ran with Mike all the way back to his house. I didn't slow down until we were standing on his rooftop. His heart had skipped a beat again – I knew that wasn't healthy, so running and moving quickly would have to stop for a while. "Welcome to my world."

"That was …" Mikes eyes went wide. "What a rush."

"It is," I nodded. "I experienced it as a human as well." I helped Mike into his bedroom through the window. "Good night, Mike." I turned, but his hand rested on mine. "Yes?"

"I need to think about this," he replied very seriously.

"Of course you do," I felt a slight drop in my stomach.

"I mean … I'm still convinced I'm dreaming. When I finally wake up I'm going to need to process all this. I mean … it's just that all this is a little overwhelming," his vacant tone made me realize just how in shock he really was.

"I understand."

"But there is one thing that keeps bothering me," Mike stared at a random place on the floor, and paused, but then continued with his thought. "We all have our skeletons in the closet. How hypocritical would I be to hold yours over your head?"

"Think about it before you commit to anything, mine are much bigger than any normal person's," I smiled and squeezed his hand. "I have all the time in the world. Good night." I leapt off the roof, but couldn't find Jasper anywhere. It wasn't until I was back at the house I saw him waiting for me. "Why did you leave?"

"You had it under control," he replied indifferently. "Besides … your love life is not something I have the right to pry into." There was a strange underlying tone to his words that I couldn't pinpoint. For some reason he was guarding his mind well. "… I trust your decisions, Corey."

"As do I," Rosalie's voice echoed as she stepped into view. The response was such a sincere gesture that I knew words would spoil the moment, so I simply nodded acknowledgment, as did she, and then Rosalie vanished as quickly as she had arrived.


	30. Love

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note**: Hmm, the last chapter. There will be an epilogue. And then … it's the end. Just FYI, I made my mind up a while ago about the whole Corey/Jasper situation. So to those who I disappoint I'm sorry, but I hoped you enjoyed the story UP until the story didn't go the way you wanted! Thank you! :o)

**30. Love**

Two days later Mike called, we decided acting like normal people was a good place to start so we exchanged cell phone numbers, and asked to meet. It was a dull overcast day and of course rain threatened. We planned to meet in the woods in his backyard, a relatively neutral and inconspicuous place. I found Mike sitting on a rock, tying the laces to one of his hiking boots.

"Hey," I called from a tree branch.

"Hm, that's going to take some getting used to," he sighed as he looked up, his brow wrinkled.

"I know," I jumped down and crouched in front of him. "So what's up?"

"Well … I figured we could talk. I thought a lot about what you told me," his voice was low.

"Oh?"

"I know I said I didn't want you to go and … I don't want to seem like I'm going back on those words …" he trailed off, hands fumbling stupidly with the laces – my stomach flipped. "But I want to take this really slow and see how it goes." He paused. "Is … is that allowed?"

I cracked a smile at his question and he looked bewildered.

"'Is that allowed?'" I mimicked his voice to a T and chuckled. "Of course it's allowed, Mike! I told you … I will do whatever you want me to do, well, within reason of course … But if you want to take it slow, then we'll do just that.

"I admit I am learning as we go. This whole being with someone deal is very new to me. Together we'll figure things out and carve some sort of path. I trust your decisions as long as you are willing to trust in me … even when my decisions seem questionable." Mike smiled, but it wasn't as sure as before I had told him my whole back-story. He was taking it in stride I could see.

"I'll trust you, Corey," he replied confidently and kissed my head. I smiled, a bubble of warmth erupting inside my chest. Yes, things were as I wanted them to be right now.

- - - - -

_A few months later: Christmas time, over one year after my transformation._

The snow was falling so much and so fast it was if Mother Nature was going for her last hoorah. I told Mike to stay home and we postponed his Christmas celebrations with the family – I told him didn't feel like peeling him off the side roads of Forks ... That and I secretly wanted to enjoy a day with _just _my family. That left time for my favorite person in the world: Jasper. Thanks to Mike's constant presence in my life now, Jasper and I both were starting to go our separate ways, and it actually became a rare event when we had one on one time. But for some reason on this snowy Saturday in December, we found ourselves walking around in the quiet whiteness together.

"What if we make a fort against the house and use the wall of the garage as a safety net so we'll only have to guard three walls?" Jasper was using his military expertise to build me, him, Alice, Esme and Carlisle the best snow fort against the rest of the family (we didn't invite Mike, that was as safe as putting him in front of a firing squad).

"Sure if you say General!" I replied sarcastically and mock saluted him.

Picking up on my sarcasm, Jasper didn't respond, I think I hurt his feelings a little. But two steps later I found myself falling face first in the snow. I had lost the super strength and speed I had as a newborn, and now Jasper could get the best of me whenever he liked … unless I happened to be scanning his mind.

"Jerk," I pushed him back, but he only stumbled forward, laughing.

We wrestled in the woods, occasionally knocking over a small tree or denting a boulder, but overall just having fun. I called a truce when Jasper threatened to throw me into the stream. Not that I didn't care about being cold, but I was wearing one of Alice's outfits (I had been too lazy to search through my closet so I took the first things I saw stacked in the hallway). I also didn't want to become a Corey-sickle and have to worry about melting ice all over Esme's house. Ha, a Corey-sickle … that thought hadn't crossed my mind since the night Edward had saved me from Hannah and her newborns. Seemed so long ago …

"Yeah, so long ago," I replied almost dreamily, recounting that night.

"You know people are going to think you're weirder than you already are if you keep that up," Jasper sat down on a log.

"You mean weirder than being a telepathic vampire? I don't think so," I sat next to him. "I survived nineteen years talking to myself out my own loneliness … I think an eternity with a family will break me of the habit." I looked up at him and smiled.

Jasper's face remained blank. Usually a remark like would have gotten me a sarcastic response or at least a chuckle, but nothing. After having a year of practice with my power it was becoming almost second hand to just listen to what people weren't telling me, but Edward's warning of knowing too much always echoed in my head. I knew it was a gift to be able to turn off the voices, so I just sat and waited for Jasper to speak.

His face remained placid. There was no emotion. He didn't even blink. The only thing that reminded me that I wasn't sitting alone was his right index finger drumming rhythmically on his thigh. Other than that Jasper didn't even breathe. He was my best friend in the world and I knew no one would ever take his place in my life – not even Mike. Finally he spoke.

"Are you afraid of being a vampire?"

"Afraid? I … I mean … I guess a little …"

"What scares you?"

"It's … it's not that I'm necessarily scared … I mean I still don't like being around too many humans, but … I don't know … I do actually miss being human," I shrugged. "Even though I feel complete, I'm only as complete as I can possibly be in this condition. I just fear that I'm not enough."

"Enough? For what?" Jasper frowned.

"For you, for Mike, for the family … for everyone!" my fists clenched tightly and then looked at him with wide eyes – if I were human tears would have been spilling over the edges of my lids by now. "I fear I have nothing to give … I have so much to lose …"

"I don't understand."

"I fear I have nothing to give … any of you," I paused and stared into Jasper's confused face. _We have so much to lose_, I thought silently. "I still struggle from time to time with jealously and wanting the lives of others in our family … And I think it stems from my feeling of inadequacy. I try to be a good sister, a good friend, and a good daughter, but I never feel like I'm enough compared to the rest of you … I have forever to work on that flaw." I smiled faintly.

He sighed and looked away.

"I've been meaning to ask you this for a while, but could never find the right moment," his voice was low and even.

"Okay."

He turned his head and looked at me with more intensity than I had ever felt. I almost turned away; his eyes were piercing through me.

"Why me?"

I frowned. "I don't follow."

"Why did I have to teach you? Why couldn't Bella or Edward? And why do you only hunt with them? Why me? Why am I the special one in your life?" his words rushed out much quicker than I had anticipated, and I knew only vampire ears would have picked up every syllable.

I sighed. I was actually wondering when he was going to ask me. Why had I picked him? Why choose him? Why put him through all that misery and strain his relationship with Alice? Why _couldn't_ it have been Edward?

"Because he would've killed me," I muttered.

"What?" Jasper shook his head in confusion.

"Sorry. So the reason why I chose you … well I'm sort of glad you've waited this long because it's taken almost a year for me to really come up with an explanation. It all goes back to the day I first met you. You remember of course."

"Yeah we almost killed you," a smile played at the corners of his mouth.

"Yes, that awesome day," I said sarcastically, "but actually it was one of the best days of my life. The moment I saw you I was drawn to your face, your expressions … they were so pained, yet I could read them so clearly. The fact that it was beyond imperative that you leave that instant was so evident, but no one else seemed to realize it. I had to know. I had to know why you were so … _unhappy_ that night.

"I guess I felt connected because I wasn't the only one in the world that was that dissatisfied with life. I wasn't alone in the world. There was you. And even though I didn't know you, I knew that someway, somehow I was going to find you. Of course the plan of action wasn't completely thought out in my head, but luckily I didn't need any plan … I landed myself in the hospital instead and then you were there," I paused. "Why _were_ you and Edward at the hospital that day? The truth."

Jasper chuckled. "Alice told us to go."

"Just to go."

"She has her ways. We don't question her very often and when Alice says that there is something important we need to do in order to help someone, we usually just do it. I had a feeling it was concerning you because she saw some sort of dark cloud over your future after we almost killed you, but couldn't pinpoint it until it was almost too late."

"She saw the newborns attacking."

"Yeah," he replied flatly.

"I've never had a best friend before. You are the first … and my only one. I knew that we would be friends. I could feel it. I didn't know how close we would become though. I figured I'd stalk you until it became scary and you just gave in and had coffee with me or something," I chuckled, "and then we'd get to know one another. Obviously I never planned for this."

"But you don't regret it?" Jasper asked curiously.

"At first I did … it wasn't easy to think I would never be able to do normal Corey things. But I love my life now. I don't regret what you did. So thank you, Jasper," I took his hand in mine and smiled. "Thank you for giving me everything."

"Not everything …" he said. I grimaced, what? "I mean … not that I could or, um, want to be everything … but, you know" – Jasper was never one to stutter – "I would say Mike is a pretty significant portion of your life."

"I could live without him if I had to," I said softly. "I couldn't live without you."

I felt Jasper's hand tighten around mine, a knee-jerk reaction.

"I know we've never really talked about this, but … you don't love me … right?" he asked hesitantly.

I didn't respond. That was not something I had thought about in a while. Soul searching wasn't my greatest forte and if I were to really do some digging, it would involve assessing my relationship with every one of my family members … especially Jasper. I sighed and spoke softly.

"You know after learning a myriad of languages, you come to realize English is rather limiting … other languages have different ways of expressing 'love'. In Spanish you don't use the same word to say you love pizza as you would say you love your family. It's just silly.

"If we had to speak in terms of English translations though, there are three _kinds_ of love. Of course these words don't even hold their true meaning when translated; you would have to be speak Greek in order to truly grasp the concept … and I just haven't gotten to teaching my self yet," I smiled, then continued, "The thee kinds of love are _philia_, _eros _and _agape_. _Philia_ obviously like the city Philadelphia, meaning love of your brother, friends. _Eros_ is like romantic attraction … the word erotic is derived from it. And then there's _agape_."

I stared out into the woods. Far in the distance a doe and her baby searched for food. The snow was beginning to let up, but it was still going to greatly impact the driving conditions in Forks. They would surely have to cancel school the public schools on Monday. A cardinal rested on a branch, his bright red a beacon amongst the blinding white of the woods.

"Coraline?" Jasper's voice broke my trance.

"The love I have for you is _agape_ love. It is unselfish, all-sacrificing love. It is unconditional and is rooted in deep respect. The Bible uses it in reference to God and his love of humanity where he sacrificed his son to save all mankind. There is nothing I would not do for you. There is nothing too great or too small you may ask of me. You are my best friend, but on a level far beyond anything I could imagine.

"Bella and Edward sort of have all three types of love entwined," I smiled, "as well as the rest of the family, even Jacob and Renesmee, though obviously the _eros_ is yet to come … you do too with Alice. I think I'm the odd man out in this situation. I don't have complete _agape_ love for Mike. It's something I've struggled with and have pined over, but you're right, he does complete a part of me. But I believe _agape_ love is stronger than _eros_ in the long run …"

He remained silent for a long time after that. I found that I had talked much more than was necessary my first few months living with the Cullens, so it was almost more enjoyable to just sit in silence with Jasper than to badger him with words. It was almost more comfortable. I leaned my head against his shoulder and brushed snow off both our knees. It was starting to pick up again. Emmett's snowball fight was going to happen sooner than we thought. I smiled to myself thinking of how many snowball fights we had yet to come as well as Christmases and other holidays. An eternity was a long time to spend with just one other person and here we were doing it as a family.

"So once you've established one kind or many kinds of love between someone … then … that's it, it doesn't change?" Jasper asked in a soft, timid voice.

The question stunned me and while I found more meanings in it than necessary, I pushed them aside and racked my brain for a proper answer. The wrong words could suddenly make an eternity unbearable, but could it also possibly make it better? I dismissed that thought as quickly as it had come and bit my tongue as I found my mouth opening, ready to answer my silent question out loud. I simply stood, and pulled Jasper to his feet, a smile spread across my face.

"C'mon, Emmett's getting impatient, he's already got the baby making snowballs."

"No answer?" Jasper planted his feet and we halted.

"I have all eternity to answer that question," I replied congenially.

I could have sworn I saw a faint glow resembling a flush brush across his cheeks, but it was gone before I had a chance to look properly. We ran back to the house, awaiting our snowy fate as Emmett's voice boomed through the wintry silence, ordering his teammates to action. It was going to be the snowball fight of the season.


	31. Epilogue: Fear

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Stephanie Meyers' work. She created the characters. I may have come up with the originals, but they were intertwined with Meyers' magnificent genius. The story points of view are broken up into different books, like in Breaking Dawn. I do give credit to Stephanie Meyer for that style of writing as well!

**A note**: Song lyrics are from Sarah McLachlan's song entitled "Fear". Thank you for reading. We'll see if a sequel happens, but stay tuned for other new stories that may arise!

**Epilogue: Fear**

_from above_

_they say temptation will destroy our love  
the never ending hunger_

.

_but I fear I have nothing to give  
I have so much to lose here in this lonely place  
tangled up in our embrace  
there's nothing I'd like better than to fall_

.

_but I fear I have nothing to give  
I have so much to lose  
I have nothing to give  
We have so much to lose_

.

_**Edward's POV**_

.

"You're distracted," Bella said as she got Renesmee bundled up, ready to take on the snow. I did not answer at first, only stared out the back and watched as Jasper and Corey walked into the woods alone. "Edward?"

"I do not lie," I said softly, almost to myself.

"What?" I could hear the confusion in her beautiful ringing voice. "Okay, go find your hat, Nessie."

"Jacob has it," my daughter's soprano voice sounded through the now empty house, and I heard her little feet sprint into the other room to attack her best friend – Jacob Black.

"What's wrong?" Bella wrapped her hands around my waist and kissed my shoulder.

"I do not lie … to my family," I replied gravely.

"What happened? Did I do something?"

She always put the blame on herself. It pained me even now, still knowing that she was less breakable. I turned and brushed a hand across her cheek. She tried to smile, but worry still spread across her face. I shook my head.

"No, love, you did nothing … it was actually my fault," I stared into her beautiful, glowing face. I missed the blushing, but to touch her without abandon and with no fear far surpassed that selfish nostalgia.

"Are you going to tell me or just talk to yourself?" she knitted her brow.

I scanned the area; everyone else was outside, getting ready for Emmett's big snowball fight. Their minds were elsewhere so they would not be tuned in to our conversation.

"I lied to Jasper. I do not lie to my family, there are hardly any secrets in this family, but I have kept one from him."

"Why? What was it? I'm sure you had a good reason," she was so quick to defend me, even before she knew how heinous my crime was.

I smiled and kissed her lightly. "I lied to him about Corey. I lied because if I did not then this family would fall apart … Alice hardly knew what she was getting herself into when she told us to go to the hospital that day. If Jasper and I had just stayed home, I don't think any of this would have happened. But then would we have protected her from being killed? Would our absence from that hospital have been the catalyst for a reckless and pointless death of an innocent girl?" I couldn't stop the words. They just flowed. Months of hidden secrets just poured out of my mouth. Bella was left frowning at me.

"I don't understand," her voice wavered.

"She won't stay with Mike for long," I sighed. "She has not yet made the decision, but the thought has played in her mind more than once. She knows Alice will see her change and like you, Corey would rather stay in pain than let others suffer."

"So she doesn't love Mike."

"Not the way wishes … the way she loves someone else. Alice knew when she sent us to the hospital that there was a chance that Corey would fall in love with Jasper … but there was only a chance. And here she was depending on me to alert her when the change of heart happened. I've been lying."

"Oh … Has it always been like this?" Bella pried, and I wish she would stop, but at the same time it was so nice to get this off my chest.

"No. She thought she was in love until just recently … Mike was her first romantic relationship. She convinced herself that he was the one, and that it would all work out in the long run. I think she was so taken by the perfect timing with him that she essentially settled for him," I frowned, that thought was not pleasant to pry from her head, but true. Corey thought she was hiding all this information from me by repeating the Declaration of Independence in Russian over and over, but it only made things harder to decipher – not impossible.

"Are you going to talk to her about this?"

"I have not yet decided … Maybe things are best left the way they are …" my eyes wandered to the forest. I listened intently to Corey's thoughts – her guard was down, she would not be hiding any secrets. I could sense the pain in her voice as she explained herself to Jasper and the intensity of her love for him … she was genuinely afraid and this shielded her true emotions from him. But it would not last forever.

"You'll make the right decision," Bella said soothingly, kissed my neck, and then ran to find Renesmee.

I sighed and dwelled on four sentences that kept repeating, echoing throughout Corey's mind in a rhythmic cadence: _But I fear I have nothing to give. I have so much to lose. I have nothing to give. We have so much to lose._

.

**THE END.**

.

**Playlist for my Twilight story:**

"Fear" - Sarah McLachlan (I usually title my stories after songs)

"Wintersong" - Sarah McLachlan

Twilight score

"Never Think" - Rob Pattinson

"Hold On" - Sarah McLachlan

"Almost Lover" - A Fine Frenzy

"Permanent" - David Cook

Legends of the Fall score

"Mercy" - Sarah McLachlan

"We All Need Saving" - Jon McLaughlin

"America" - Simon & Garfunkel (covered by Josh Groban


End file.
